He's got a bulging stomach and a preference for red wine; he orders two main courses for lunch; ... 'When I listen to liber

He's got a bulging stomach and a preference for red wine; he orders two main courses for lunch; and, unlike the Prime Minister, he wouldn't contemplate wearing Ugg boots.

He speaks his mind even if it contradicts the message on his pager. And he is the last minister in the Cabinet clinging on to his beard. Charles Clarke is no Blairite clone.

The Home Secretary has become the cushion between the Prime Minister, his backbenchers, the peers and the legal establishment on the anti-terrorism legislation.

Last week the Government's majority was reduced to one in a vote on the Bill. "I've had a lot of MPs telling me that they were my saving vote," says the Home Secretary.

But he credits David Blunkett for coming to his rescue just hours after his resignation. "David is a serious politician. He wouldn't have thought for a moment of sulking."

"I haven't agreed with David all the time by any stretch of the imagination. We are very different sorts of politicians but I admire him," Mr Clarke says.

But he didn't back him last week over his DNA shares. Now other colleagues are being criticised for their involvement with private companies. The Home Secretary has registered "nil" under his name in the list of members' interests.

"David made a mistake but I am not that puritanical. I do have shares in Norwich Football Club, I'm just not a great believer in shareholder democracy."

He admits that some Labour MPs are seduced by the high life. "The joke is that the Tories have sex scandals and Labour have money ones. But sex scandals are nothing like as bad as serious financial misdemeanours."

He believes that Mr Blunkett's blindness may have been a factor in his downfall. "He is very good at getting round a brief but he sometimes misses people's facial expressions, body language and eye movements. He is fantastically sensitive to what is going on around him but he can't get everything."

The Prime Minister also seems to be finding it increasingly difficult to judge the political mood. "There is a whole chunk of people now who are out to get Blair," Mr Clarke says. "It's becoming a joke, he keeps having his worst day of his life. But he keeps going on and on. He is not suddenly going to quit."

The Cabinet has been in open revolt - over everything from smoking to schools. But the Home Secretary insists that disagreement is healthy. "Any group of 25 people are going to have a range of views."

"Of course in politics there are loyalties towards individuals and leaders around the Cabinet table. You find different degrees of admiration and respect for Tony and Gordon. But what I hope just about everybody is focused on is doing the job."

This week Mr Clarke's job is to broker a deal with the Conservatives and Labour rebels over government proposals to hold terrorist suspects without charge for 90 days. He is preparing to climb down.

"I will be upset if I can't get 90 days but it's not crucial," he says. "We want 90 not 80 or 100 because that is what the police want. But whether there is support for that in the Commons is a completely different question."

He is also preparing to compromise over the plan to make it illegal to glorify terrorism. "There's a lot of discussion about intent and I'm ready to deal with this in a way that makes people feel more satisfied with it."

Isn't he secretly pleased that the anti-terrorism Bill will be diluted? The son of a North London civil servant, privately educated, he could easily be part of what his predecessor dismissed as the "liberati".

"I was never a civil libertarian. I'm tough but not populist. To be tougher than Michael Howard isn't difficult. He's a pretty pathetic leader of his party at the moment. The way he abdicated leadership in dealing with terrorism is a national disgrace."

The Home Secretary admits that he is scared by the briefings he receives every day from the security services. "Terrorist cells are operating in Britain," he explains.

He says that more than one attack has been thwarted since July 7. "I don't give numbers but there have been some. The threat is still there. I do sometimes get frightened. These are ruthless individuals."

"Terrorists have rights but there is also the right of an individual to travel around London safely, the right not to be blown up by a bomb, and I think that those rights are more important." Judges, he says, must understand that "jurisprudence needs to reflect the reality of the society we have".

Meeting the families of the victims of July 7 at the memorial service last week had a profound effect on Mr Clarke, strengthening his resolve to drive through the anti-terrorism Bill.

"Tony told me that families and victims were saying to him, 'Don't let the terrorists do this again, do whatever you can to stop them.' After that, when you listen to liberal London, you think they are pathetic. These kind of debates are too dominated by lawyers, both in the Commons and the Lords."

Mr Clarke admits that compensation payments for victims has been too slow but he doesn't believe that those injured in a terrorist attack should be given preferential treatment. "It is not the way in which you are injured that is the key thing but the extent of the injuries."

There has been much agonising about what created home-grown suicide bombers. "I don't really know what multi-culturalism means so I don't know whether it fails," the Home Secretary says. "Clearly we want anyone from any faith to respect each other."

But he thinks that Christians have become too timid. "The suggestion of banning Christmas is ludicrous," he says. "Everyone should respect each other's cultures and religions."

Respect is the current Whitehall buzzword and Mr Clarke is the minister responsible for improving the country's manners. "The word respect, a black word, is a good word, we need a lot more of it."

But so far, there have just been a series of trivial proposals such as banning alcohol on public transport. "I drink on the train. This wasn't some great cause, it hadn't been thought through. It wasn't a major policy."

What about banning hoodies? "I am not going to go around telling people what to wear, but if a supermarket or a shopping mall wants to ban them, that's fine. This isn't just a whole load of eye-catching initiatives. What the Prime Minister is trying to do is make people more comfortable in their own homes."

He cites the Government's clampdown on domestic violence as one serious measure to tackle increasing aggression. "I do feel very strongly about it, we must take it seriously."

So does he think that Rebekah Wade, the editor of the Sun, who was arrested for assaulting her husband, should be admonished? "Thank God it was not a politician for once," is all he will say.

The Home Secretary admits that he broke the law himself as a student by taking cannabis. "I did it on a small number of occasions a long time ago." But he says that MPs must not under any circumstances take drugs. "Everyone should obey the law but MPs have a particular obligation to do so because they are law makers."

The Home Secretary's only remaining act of rebellion is his beard. "I'm not shaving it off," he says. "I don't think anyone minds whether I'm hairy or not."

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