Well that's what it's looking like. After climbing down over his 10p tax cut (although we've yet to see what his compensation measures are) PM Gordon Brown repeated in the House of Commons today that he was sticking by his decision to try to extend detention without trial to 42 days. Is the man completely barking? No-one, apart from Brown, his home secretary Jacqui Smith and creepy Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Iain Blair wants this measure or thinks it's needed. If the government wants to detain a suspected 'terrorist' and throw away the key there are lots of ways it can do so. Like charging them with a lesser offence and bringing in other charges later. Brown either knows something we don't (maybe Osama Bin Laden has taken up residence in the UK, for tax purposes perhaps) or his misguided attempt to appear tougher than the Tories is set to backfire in a spectacular way. If he pushes this to a vote and loses he will surely have to to step down. Maybe that's the plan; Gordon is planning a rousing exit so he can come back later and say, "I told you so." Madder and madder.