Parliamentary battle over Britain's anti-terrorism bill continues

The parliamentary battle over the British government's controversial anti-terrorism bill continues after lawmakers in the elected lower part of parliament voted Thursday night to reject a series of amendments proposed by the House of Lords earlier on the day.

The House of Commons turned down demands to increase the burdenof proof needed to apply certain restrictions on terror suspects. They also dismissed the so-called "sunset clause" that would have seen the new law expire in November.

The House of Commons is now sending the legislation back to theHouse of Lords and lawmakers and peers are digging in for a long night.

Peers can accept the bill or they can amend it in which case itwill ping pong back to the House of Commons once again.

During the Commons debate Thursday night, British Home Secretary Charles Clarke said the calls for the sunset clause could encourage "terrorists to locate in Britain".

However, he did offer further concessions by extending the scope of the annual review of the law, according to a Sky News report.

Earlier on Thursday, the Lords insisted by 250 to 100, a majority of 150, to reinsert a sunset clause into the bill but fora year rather than the eight months as originally proposed.

Before the Lords' voting, Prime Minister Tony Blair said he remained "completely opposed" to the sunset clause.

"They have simply got to understand: to continue to water down and dilute this legislation is not responsible. It is wrong. They should stop it," said Blair.

In a bid to get the bill through quickly, the British government had already made major concessions by agreeing to allowjudges rather than the government to oversee control orders from house arrest through to less serious limits on freedoms such as Internet access. It also agreed that the law would be reviewed by parliament annually.

In theory, the bill could "ping-pong" between the Commons and Lords over the next 24 hours before finally falling if no agreement is reached.

Source: Xinhua