NO one should take any persuading that the threat from terrorists in Britain is with us for a long time to come.

We all hope that there will be no repeat of the kind of atrocity which struck London on July 7, 2005, but we know in our hearts that further outrages are inevitable.

Therefore it is imperative that emphasis is placed on intelligence so that future attacks can be prevented.

Yesterday's report by an all-party committee of MPs points to the need to invest in our security services in the wake of the London bombings. That investment must be on-going and meaningful, responding to the changing scale of the threat, so that public safety is maximised.

But it must be recognised that the investment in intelligence is important, not just because it will help intercept terrorists.

It is also important because there have been alarming and tragic flaws in the quality and accuracy of intelligence made available to the British authorities.

Flawed intelligence led to the killing by police of an innocent man on the London Underground, and flawed intelligence was at the heart of the Government's justification for bombing Iraq.

We do not pretend that any of this is easy. We acknowledge the difficulties and hear the assurances that accurate intelligence has helped prevent a number of other attacks. We should all be grateful for that.

But intelligence will be the foundation of the war on terror and everything must be done to ensure that it is as solid as possible.