London ? The British government revealed sweeping plans Thursday to toughen terrorism laws, including a proposal to hold suspects for up to 42 days without charge.

Home Secretary Jacqui Smith’s plan would increase the limit for detaining suspects without charge from 28 days to 42 days and urge judges to impose stiffer sentences on criminals whose offenses are linked to terrorism.

The proposal also calls for creation of a specialist national database to store DNA samples from suspected terrorists.

Samples are not currently added to a national database holding DNA information on criminals, meaning officers cannot search quickly for potential matches to other evidence.

Human rights groups oppose proposals to increase the maximum time terrorism suspects can be held by police. So do lawmakers within Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s Labour Party, guaranteeing a vicious fight in Parliament.