London - The British government was defeated in the House of Lords last night over its plans to curb a defendant's right to trial by jury.
Conservatives, Liberal Democrats, cross-benchers and eight rebel Labour backbenchers voted 222-126 against the proposal contained in the Criminal Justice (Mode of Trial) Bill.
The government quickly conceded that the move had "effectively killed the bill". It would be withdrawing the bill, and the Home Secretary, Mr Jack Straw, announced plans to introduce another bill in the Commons.