TONY Blair could not have tried harder to win the House of Commons vote on whether terror suspects could be detained for up to 90 days.

He was impassioned, he was angry, and he believed he was right. Gordon Brown and Jack Straw were rushed back from Israel and Moscow to demonstrate their support.

But the Prime Minister was not only defeated for the first time in the Commons, he was also trounced, with many more than the "usual suspects" of Labour rebels refusing to give him their support.

Mr Blair reacted by insisting that his authority remains intact. But there is no doubt that he has been badly wounded.

In the end, 90 days was simply too much for MPs to countenance, even though the measure had the support of the majority of British people. Had Mr Blair been prepared to compromise, he might have won an extension to 60 days, instead of 28.

But, on the back of assurances from the police and intelligence services, Mr Blair stuck to what he thought was right and we respect him for that.

The intelligence upon which he sent British troops to war in Iraq ultimately proved to be incorrect.

We must now all share his hope that the intelligence which insists that a detention limit of up to 90 days is crucial to national security proves to be incorrect too.