Labour Party, Catholic Church Debate Embryo Bill

LONDON — The row over the government's flagship Embryology Bill threatened to escalate into one of the most serious crises of Gordon Brown's premiership last night as a war of words erupted between senior Labour figures and the Roman Catholic Church. A succession of senior Catholic churchmen used their Easter addresses to criticize the legislation and intensify the pressure on Mr. Brown to allow his Catholic MPs a free vote when the Commons debates the bill later this year.

But Mr. Brown is refusing to let the MPs and ministers vote against the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill, which he believes will lead to major advances in medicine and the treatment of fatal diseases.

The row escalated significantly yesterday, when senior Labour MPs and peers accused the Catholic Church of trying to "dictate government policy" and of "scaremongering" — particularly over measures allowing the creation of human-animal hybrid embryos.