LONDON (AFP) -- The British government faces a parliamentary battle on Wednesday over its plans to extend the amount of time terror suspects can be detained without charge, with the vote set to go down to the wire.

Though a new poll showed strong support for Prime Minister Gordon Brown's plans to increase the pre-charge detention limit for suspected extremists to 42 days from 28, several MPs from the ruling Labor Party were still expected to rebel and vote against the government.
As many as 50 Labor MPs may vote against the government, which holds an overall parliamentary majority of 66, with reports on Wednesday suggesting that Brown would have to rely on the support of smaller parties to emerge victorious.
In a sign of how close it was expected to be, Foreign Secretary David Miliband was forced to cut short a visit to the Middle East to return to London to have his vote counted.
Defeat would increase pressure on the prime minister, whose party is close to record lows in the opinion polls and has been hit by recent defeats in local elections, the London Mayoral contest, and a by-election in a party stronghold.
A YouGov poll published in the Daily Telegraph on Wednesday put public backing for the proposals at 69 percent, with 24 percent opposed; a Populus survey in The Times a day earlier had 40 percent backing an extension with a further 33 percent supportive, provided there were strong safeguards.