Jacqui Smith, the new home secretary, was yesterday praised for the "calmness and dignity" of her response to the attempted bombings in London and Glasgow after updating parliament on the police investigation and extra security measures.

In an emergency statement to MPs, Ms Smith struck a more consensual tone than some of her predecessors, refraining from blaming the attacks on radical Islam, and branding terrorists as plain "criminals, whose victims come from all walks of life, communities and religions".