Conservatives say Clarke will “concede” on anti-terror laws.
The Government has come under renewed pressure to offer concessions on proposed anti-terror laws currently being scrutinised by Parliament.
The Conservatives claim Home Secretary Charles Clarke is likely to backtrack on key areas in the Prevention of Terrorism Bill when it is debated again on Monday.
Both the Tories and the Liberal Democrats have called for changes to the Bill so that the judiciary, rather than the Home Secretary is responsible for deciding whether to place terror suspects under house arrest.
Speaking on BBC’s Breakfast with Frost programme, Shadow Home Secretary David Davis said he would be “very surprised” if the Government did not bow to such changes.
“The first thing that will go is the idea that it will be the Home Secretary (who issues the control orders),” said Mr Davis.
“I would be very surprised if tomorrow the Home Secretary doesn’t concede that the decision has to be made by a judge,” he added, stressing that such a concession alone would not be sufficient to persuade his party to support the Bill.
“There is a lot more to it than that. There is the question of the levels of proof, the way we handle this sort of thing.”
“There are a lot of changes to come and I think that if they don’t come in the Commons, the Lords will force them on him,” Mr Davies warned.
Liberal Democrat leader Charles Kennedy told GMTV’s Sunday Programme that some concessions were already being offered by the Government in behind the scenes talks, but he added, “whether the movement will be enough remains to be seen.”
He insisted that his party would not retreat from “basic, bottom-line fundamental principles.”
Despite opposition from opposition MPs and Labour backbenchers, press reports suggest Labour ministers are confident of passing the proposed laws through the House of Commons without much difficulty.
Political commentators are predicting that the Government will face greater difficulties in the House of Lords, where Labour has no majority.
But Tory leader in the upper chamber, Lord Strathclyde, said the Bill was “fundamentally flawed” and would not pass through Parliament in its current form.
“I don’t think there is anybody alive in the world today who believes that the Bill… will pass through all its stages in Parliament in its current fashion,” he said.
“It needs substantial revision, major changes.”
On Saturday, the Home Secretary’s parliamentary private secretary told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that Charles Clarke was continuing to try and gain a maximum degree of support for the controversial proposals.
“Charles Clarke has been seeking consensus from the outset of this. He is continuing to listen to people,” said aide Stephen McCabe.
