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LONDON: Two suspects in the failed car bombings in Britain have been released without charge, police said Sunday, as Australia defended its tough new anti-terrorism laws that held a suspect there.
The pair, whose identities have not been disclosed but are thought to be trainee doctors aged 25 and 28, were arrested on July 2.
They were among eight people held after two cars packed with petrol, gas canisters and nails were found in central London on June 29 and a flaming Jeep Cherokee slammed into Glasgow Airport's main terminal building a day later.
Three people -- two in Britain and one in Australia -- have been charged over the failed attacks, one man remains in custody and another is under police guard in hospital. The eighth person, a woman, has been released.
Meanwhile, the debate about balancing civil liberties with the need to fight extremism continued in both Britain and Australia.
In Britain, police have up to 28 days to detain and question security suspects, subject to regular judicial review, after former prime minister Tony Blair's proposal of a 90-day maximum was rejected by parliament.
But the president of the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO), Ken Jones, told The Observer newspaper Sunday: "We are now arguing for judicially supervised detention for as long as it takes."
He said police were "up against the buffers" on the 28-day limit and a new system was required with the proper judicial checks and balances.
Human rights groups here condemned ACPO for pushing "internment".
Jones was later forced to clarify his remarks, saying that ACPO was not calling for internment, adding that "it's up to parliament to talk about what an upper limit might look like."
Meanwhile, Australia's Foreign Minister Alexander Downer was forced to defend new anti-terror laws that allowed Indian doctor Mohammed Haneef to be held for nearly two weeks before being charged over the attacks.
"I'm a great believer in individual freedom," Downer told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC).
"It's a touchstone of my life and so depriving people of freedom is always a worry, but on the other hand you have to have tough laws if you are going to stop terrorism."
Australia's Attorney-General Philip Ruddock said in a separate interview: "I think the laws have been balanced and appropriate, and in large measure, appropriate for the risks that we face."
The two failed attacks prompted Britain to raise its security alert level to "critical" -- the highest -- as the country feared an imminent attack.
It has since been downgraded to "severe", the second highest but which still means an attack is thought "highly likely", according to the domestic intelligence service MI5's website.
Haneef, 27, and his cousin Sabeel Ahmed, 26, were charged with terrorism offences on Saturday and were due to appear in court in Brisbane and London respectively on Monday.
Haneef is accused of providing "reckless" support to a terrorist organisation -- a charge which carries a maximum 15-year penalty -- while Ahmed, also an Indian doctor, is accused of withholding information on terrorism.
The 27-year-old has been in custody in Australia following his arrest on July 2 in the eastern city of Brisbane as he was attempting to leave the country on a one-way ticket.
Iraqi doctor Bilal Abdulla, 27, was the first to be charged. He was remanded in custody last Saturday, accused of conspiracy to cause explosions.
He is alleged to have been a passenger in the Jeep that Ahmed's older brother Kafeel, 27, is said to have been driving in the Glasgow attack. Kafeel remained critically ill in hospital.
Marwan Daana, a 27-year-old laboratory assistant, was released without charge on Thursday. Her husband, Jordanian doctor Mohammed Asha, 26, is still in custody. Police have until July 21 to question him. - AFP/ch/ac
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