Tap evidence in court proposed

Evidence gathered through wiretapping would be allowed in British courts for the first time under proposals aimed at bringing more terrorism suspects to justice, Prime Minister Gordon Brown announced.

Britain has some of the most extensive surveillance powers in the world and has used the information to capture suspects. But it is one of the few countries to bar courts from hearing evidence from intercepted calls and e-mail.

Intelligence officials have long feared that if details of methods used to catch a target were divulged in court, other suspects would find ways to dodge the surveillance.