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Metropolitan Police commissioner Sir Ian Blair told MPs on Tuesday that the existing 28-day limit may hinder future investigations.
The pre-charge period should be increased to "somewhere between" 50 and 90 days, he told the Commons home affairs committee.
And he warned that the number of terrorist plots against the UK is "mounting".
"At some stage 28 days is not going to be sufficient, and the worst time to debate whether an extension is needed would be in the aftermath of an atrocity," he said.
"If you can see the epidemic moving towards you, you start to take precautions before it arrives."
He added: "The number of the conspiracies, the number of conspirators within those conspiracies and the magnitude of the ambition, in terms of destruction and loss of life, is mounting; has continued to mount, is increasing year by year."
Sir Ian said there should be clear judicial oversight of any extended detention period.
But shadow home secretary David Davis said: "We have the longest period of detention without trial in the democratic world.
"Any increase needs to be based on evidence - not guesswork - that it is needed to protect the public.
"The government already has the power to go beyond 28 days if the threat reaches the 'magnitude' Sir Ian foresees in the future.
"Instead of more draconian legislation, there are immediate practical measures the government should be taking that would make Britain safer, including the introduction of a real border police force, post-charge questioning of terror suspects and lifting the ban on using intercept evidence to prosecute terrorists."
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http://uk.news.yahoo.com/epolitix/20071 ... 1a1_1.html
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