Thursday February 10, 8:36 PM
2000
Yahoo! News
Yahoo! Top Stories - Press Association News Centre
MPs have overwhelmingly backed the latest bid to lower the age of consent for gay men from 18 to 16.
On a free vote, the Commons approved the second reading of the Sexual Offences (Amendment) Bill by 263 votes to 102, a Government majority of 161.
The measure is certain to face stiff opposition in the Lords, where peers have already thrown out two previous attempts to equalise the gay and heterosexual ages of consent.
But the Government has already indicated it will employ the rarely-used device of invoking the Parliament Act to force the Bill through, according to the wishes of the elected House.
The vote, after an impassioned five-hour debate, comes just three days after peers rejected Government plans to repeal Section 28 which bans the promotion of homosexuality in schools.
Gay rights campaigner Peter Tatchell said: "This huge majority signals the last lap in our 33-year campaign to repeal the discriminatory age of consent."
Opening the debate, Home Secretary Jack Straw said lowering the age of consent for male homosexuals was about creating a society "free from prejudice".
Later it emerged that Shadow Chancellor and Tory former Cabinet minister Michael Portillo backed the lowering of the age of consent.
Mr Portillo voted against the equalisation of the age of consent in 1994 but was not in Parliament for the last vote.
Since then, he has revealed that he had "some homosexual experiences" as a student, when he was himself under the then age of consent of 21, but stressed that this side of his life was a thing of the past.