TORY leader Michael Howard last night pushed Labour into apologising for the death of Special Branch officer Stephen Oake at the hands of failed asylum seeker and al Qaida operative Kamel Bourgass.

Mr Howard, who was visiting the Stockton South constituency, drew the apology from Alan Milburn, who said: "Of course, what we apologise for is the death of that police officer, serving his country, trying to protect his country.

"The issue now is how we ensure that that sort of thing doesn't happen again."

Mr Howard said the case "underlines the chaos in our system", after it was revealed that Bourgass evaded capture for two years, having smuggled himself into the country and been on the run after his asylum application was turned down.

Speaking at the Judges Country Club in Yarm, near Stockton, Mr Howard said Mr Milburn was right to apologise.

He said: "If Mr Blair had delivered the firm but fair immigration policy he promised eight years ago, Bourgass would not have been in Britain."

Bourgass was jailed for life for murdering Detective Constable Oake and was also convicted on Wednesday of plotting to use poisons including ricin, cyanide and botulinum in terror attacks in London.

However, Labour - joined by the Liberal Democrats - countered by accusing the Tory leader of playing politics.

Mr Milburn, the party's election co-ordinator and Darlington MP, said: "The information the case has revealed about terrorist activity in Britain makes it clearer than ever that no serious party should play politics on terrorism."

As a result, he said Labour had decided to make the Identity Cards Bill a key feature of the campaign.

Mr Milburn said: "If Labour win, the ID Card Bill will be reintroduced before the summer.

"Only last week, the Conservatives blocked ID cards from becoming law, after nearly three years of discussion in Parliament."

The Liberal Democrats urged restraint on campaigning on the issue.

Deputy leader Sir Menzies Campbell said: "I think politicians have an overwhelming obligation to be fastidious in the language they use about issues of this kind.

"They should always ask themselves whether, by using particular words, they are likely to be constructive or to increase anxiety."

However, the issue still overshadowed the LibDems' low-key launch of their manifesto.

And Mr Howard stood firm, telling the TV cameras in Yarm: "The truth is that Britain's asylum system is in chaos.

"That is not something I have been saying today or yesterday, but something I have been saying over the course of months and years."

Mr Howard said that the Government's claims that ID cards were the solution were ludicrous when just weeks ago ministers said they would not be issued to failed asylum seekers.