British Prime Minister Tony Blair succeeded today in winning a crucial Commons vote on anti-terror laws after accusing the Opposition of trying to "dilute and weaken" them.
Despite a backbench rebellion, cutting the Government's majority to 38, MPs voted by 315 to 277 to overturn a Lords defeat striking out Government proposals outlawing glorification of terrorism.
The result - after three testing days for ministers with key votes on ID cards and smoking - will come as a huge relief for the Prime Minister.
Earlier, at a stormy question time, he warned that to take out references to 'glorification' in the Terrorism Bill would send out a "massively counter-productive signal".
Mr Blair said: "People outside will infer that we have decided to dilute our law at the very moment when we should be strengthening it and sending a united signal that we aren't going to tolerate those who glorify terrorism in our country."
William Hague, standing in for Tory leader David Cameron, branded the move "ineffective authoritarianism" and accused Mr Blair of "posturing" on the issue when he could have cross-party agreement.
"Wouldn't it be better to have a watertight law designed to catch the guilty, rather than a press release law designed to catch the headlines," he said, to Tory cheers.
When the issue was last debated in the Commons, during the committee stage of the Terrorism Bill, the Government's majority was cut to just one, as 31 Labour MPs rebelled.
Today the number of rebels was put at about 15 by one backbench source.