Ananova:

Britain must not abandon its commitment to the rule of law in the face of the threat of terrorism, the Government's most senior law officer said.

Even those suspected of the most vicious terrorist outrages should be granted the right to trial by an "independent and competent" tribunal, said Attorney General Lord Goldsmith.

His comments may be seized upon by campaigners who have opposed the system of control orders imposed by Home Secretary Charles Clarke on terror suspects who have not been brought to trial.

The orders replaced an earlier system of detention without trial which was ruled unlawful by the Law Lords.

The Government has argued that those subject to control orders cannot be brought to trial because the case against them often rests on evidence from phone-tapping, which is not admissible in court.

Lord Goldsmith said he welcomed indications from Mr Clarke that work is under way to determine whether such intercept evidence can be made admissible.

He also defended decisions to bring British soldiers to court where there are credible allegations of abuse of civilians in Iraq.

In a speech at the London School of Economics, Lord Goldsmith said he recognised it was "a bitter pill to swallow" for those affected by terror outrages to see the legal system protect the rights of those believed to be responsible.

But he added: "There should be in modern society no outlaws; no people to whom the law does not apply who can ignore its constraints and to whom therefore anything can be done.

"They should be bound by the law and held rigorously to account in accordance with the law when they do not uphold it, but the law should not treat them as non-persons either."