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Gordon Brown grants free vote on embryos

Gordon Brown has been forced into a retreat as he agreed to allow his ministers and MPs to vote against controversial new laws on embryos and fertilisation.

For weeks the Prime Minister has refused to grant a free vote on the key Government bill despite a threatened mutiny from three Cabinet ministers.

But he has moved to head off a damaging revolt by agreeing to let Labour MPs vote according to their conscience, and not the party whip, on the three controversial clauses of the Bill - human-animal hybrid embryo research, IVF research and so-called 'saviour siblings'.

Mr Brown's climbdown comes after senior figures in the Catholic Church used Easter weekend to highlight aggressively their concerns about the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill.

The pressure has forced a rethink from Mr Brown. He said while he still attached "huge importance" to the bill in "saving lives and helping to cure and treat diseases" he will "respect the conscience of every Member of Parliament as they decide how to cast their vote in this."

He added: "On the three issues where, for the first time, these ethical issues are being debated in Parliament in this new way - and that's so-called admix embryos, the second one is saviour siblings and the third one is IVF research - exercising your conscience will mean for Labour Party members a free vote."

Full story at the Daily Telegraph.