LONDON, Feb 1: British Prime Minister Tony Blair faced fresh questions about his authority on Wednesday after his government suffered a shock double-defeat over a key part of new legislation to combat religious hatred.

The opposition Conservatives asked what confidence the country could still have in Mr Blair carrying through his agenda while he tacitly accepted responsibility for the defeats.

The prime minister did not take part in the second of two votes on amending the bill — which the government then lost by one vote due to a sizeable revolt amongst Labour backbenchers, adding to his embarrassment.

Until Tuesday night, Mr Blair had suffered one defeat in parliament over planned legislation since coming to power in 1997 — a controversial move to hold terrorism suspects for up to 90 days without charge.

But just over two months after that setback, the House of Commons voted against him twice on the Racial and Religious Hatred Bill, backing the House of Lords, which had already blocked aspects of the proposals.

Mr Blair faces the prospect of a forthcoming Labour rebellion over proposals to allow schools greater freedoms, a key plank of his agenda which he hopes will form his legacy rather than the war in Iraq when he quits before the next election, due by 2010.

“I think for the education vote it’s probably a good idea if I turn up,” Mr Blair said during his weekly question-and-answer session in parliament.

Conservative leader David Cameron taunted the government whips for the blunder, saying the prime minister’s authority had eroded to the point that he was only able to get things done with Conservative support.

Northern Ireland Secretary Peter Hain admitted the government had been taken by surprise and said a period of reflection was needed, particularly to find a “better way forward” with “regular (Labour Party) rebels” who opposed Mr Blair.—AFP