Blair wins battle, not war over UK terror laws

LONDON, Thursday (Reuters) Tony Blair made major concessions to speed contentious anti-terrorism measures into law but despite winning key votes could yet lose powers he says are vital to stop bloody attacks on British soil.

A parliamentary stand-off over the legislation has made for a bruising pre-election fight for the prime minister and strikes at the heart of the global post-Sept. 11 debate over how far tougher security should be allowed to erode civil liberties.

The government offered two amendments to its bill - so judges rather than politicians will have the final say on all forms of "control orders" on terrorism suspects, and parliament would review the law annually. "We have made concessions we think are reasonable ... I hope that satisfies people," Blair told a rowdy parliament. "Should any terrorist act occur, there will not be a debate about civil liberties. There would be debate about the advice the government received and whether they followed it. I've got the advice (from security services), I intend to follow it."

His climbdown was enough to win over the elected House of Commons. In a series of votes, it backed Blair, having come close to throwing out the bill last week as dozens of rebels in his Labour party cut the premier's majority from 161 to just 14. The tightest margin on Wednesday was 340 to 251. The original proposal, giving ministers not judges power to order house arrests or measures such as electronic tagging and curfews for terror suspects, outraged many who said it wrecked rights enshrined in Britain's justice system for 700 years.

At the heart of the controversy are 11 foreign suspects held without trial, most in London's top security Belmarsh prison.

In an interview with the BBC late on Wednesday, Blair blamed the opposition Conservative Party for trying to "water down" the bill, saying their obstruction was irresponsible and wrong.

"If I thought it could be watered down without harming the substance of the bill then it wouldn't be a problem," he said. Blair's alternative measures return to the House of Lords, parliament's unelected upper chamber, on Thursday.