Policy Announcements, Tuesday 24 July

Government  

• The transport secretary has set out plans to spend billions of pounds to ease overcrowding on trains. Ruth Kelly said £10bn would be invested by 2014 to increase services and make trains longer as she outlined the government's rail strategy to MPs. She said by 2030 she wanted the railway network to carry twice the number of passengers and freight. The Tories dismissed the White Paper as containing "reheated announcements that are years later than promised". Ms Kelly said £600m would be spent on tackling "bottlenecks" at Birmingham and Reading and there would be 1,300 new carriages by 2014 to ease overcrowding.
• Home Secretary Jacqui Smith says "the time is now right" to reconsider extending detention without charge beyond the current 28 days limit**.** She said the complexity of recent alleged terror plots meant more time was sometimes needed before charge. Ms Smith, appointed in June, said the 28-day limit had already "been pushed".  

Conservatives  

• David Cameron has called for all developed countries to end "immoral" trade barriers in a speech to the Rwandan parliament. The Conservative leader said trading systems were designed to protect the rich and put poor countries at an unfair disadvantage. He was speaking during a visit to the east African country by about 40 party volunteers, while a Tory policy review on globalisation and global poverty was simultaneously launched back in London.