Voted down

Contrary to earlier speculation, Tony Blair decided to push ahead with a 90-day period for detention without charges. And now he's reaped the just rewards of that choice:

British Prime Minister Tony Blair lost a crucial parliamentary vote on sweeping anti-terror legislation Wednesday, the first major defeat of his premiership and a serious blow to his authority.

Legislators blocked plans to detain terror suspects for 90 days without charge by 322 votes to 291, a majority of 31 against the government.

British lawmakers later voted to detain terror suspects for 28 days without charge — an option favoured by opposition parties and rebels in Mr. Blair's Labour party.

The end result is still somewhat of an increase in the detention-without-charge period, and that's cause for concern. But the vote sends a strong message that in the U.K. at least, "trust me" isn't going to be considered a good enough reason to grant the executive carte blanche when it comes to civil rights.