Britain's House of Lords has backed new government rules to allow limited cloning of human embryos, turning a deaf ear to religious leaders from across the spectrum who oppose the measures.

Peers in parliament's upper chamber voted by 212 to 92 to allow research using stem cells to develop treatments for diseases such as leukemia and Parkinson's. Debate raged for 7 hours, but as MPs in the elected House of Commons passed the order by a majority of two to one late last year, it will now become law.

Prime Minister Tony Blair argues that the move will allow Britain to stay at the forefront of the booming biotechnology industry. But right-to-life groups and religious leaders see it as the first step toward full human cloning.

Independent peer Lord Alton, a "pro-life" campaigner, released a letter from Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama, Archbishop of Canterbury George Carey and Britain's Chief Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, urging parliament to set aside the laws.

Alton said the government was railroading the order through parliament without proper scrutiny and proposed a motion that would freeze the legislation until a special committee had heard exhaustive evidence from experts.

"It is precisely because we need to consider these things in detail that we shouldn't be stampeded into making decisions," he said. "There are many strong ethical and scientific arguments which may be deployed against cloning techniques but we are also strongly at variance with international opinion."

The European Parliament had urged Britain to stop its plans.

Alton's amendment fell as the government bought off opponents by promising to allow a committee of experts to scrutinize the ethics and science of the issue as long as the House of Lords voted the order through on the night.

Health minister Lord Hunt said Britain would legislate to ensure that full human cloning never happens, even though safeguards are already in place.

SOURCE - Reuters Health