£3,000 a day - cushty!

The proposed £3,000 a day compensation for people held beyond 28 days and up to 42 days without charge who are then released without charge has lead many to wonder if this might be a good money-making exercise. As usual The Daily Mash has a good take on this:

"MILLIONS of people across the UK are hoping to earn up to £3000 a day by pretending to be a terrorist.

With the government offering generous compensation to anyone held without charge for more than 28 days, enterprising Britons are already getting up to speed with key Jihadist phrases.

Would-be fake maniac Wayne Hayes, a shopfitter from Swindon, said: "I'm just going to wander into my local police station and say, 'I think I might be a terrorist'.

"Then, at the stroke of midnight on the 29th day I'll say, 'actually, I don't think I'm a terrorist after all'. Ker-ching!"

He added: "I'm sure some people will keep it going for the full 42 days, but I can only get four weeks off work."

Hayes is already surfing Jihadist websites and has placed two small Calor gas canisters in the boot of his Jeep Cherokee.

"I bought them for the barbecue, but we hardly ever use it, so I may as well pretend to be planning an attack on Bristol airport."

Bill McKay, a civil engineer from Leeds, said: "I'm going to get my neighbours involved. Get them to say things like, 'he's been very angry about Palestine recently and seems to have made a lot of strange new friends'."

He added: "We'd really like to put in a conservatory this year, so I reckon I'll need about 33 days."