Read Cardinal Keith O'Brien's full sermon on Ruth Gledhill's blog

Gordon Brown is to allow three Catholic members of his Cabinet to vote with their "conscience" on the Government's controversial legislation on embryo research, in a highly unusual attempt to dampen down a spiralling political row.

Alan Johnson, the Health Secretary, claimed that the Government would seek "accommodation" with all Catholic Labour MPs over the bill - including Cabinet members Ruth Kelly, Des Browne and Paul Murphy - which allows the creation of human-animal hybrid embryos for medical research.

His statement came as the Government appeared to be employing a twin approach to calm the row, with an attempt to pacify Catholic MPs within the Labour Party on the one hand, and a growing Ministerial effort to make senior figures within the scientific community come out in support of the Government on the other.

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BACKGROUND

• Cardinal Keith O’Brien attacks embryo Bill

• Cardinal Keith O'Brien branded a 'liar' by Labour peer

• Catholic ministers to be given embryo 'opt-out'

BACKGROUND

• An embryonic disaster?

• Hope of therapy for Parkinson’s disease

• Matter of Conscience

BACKGROUND

• Q&A: Human-animal embryo research

• Faith and science answer different questions

• Brown compromise over embryo Bill revolt

• 'We are wrong on embryo Bill'

Related Links

• Q&A: Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill

• 'Iron fist' Brown faces revolt

• Cardinal Keith O'Brien branded a 'liar' by Labour peer

But government efforts to cool the row appeared to be having little impact today, with Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, the most senior Roman Catholic clergy in Britain, raising the temperature further by echoing growing calls for MPs to be given a free vote on the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill.

Rejecting claims that the Prime Minister was “dithering” over whether to follow Conservative leader David Cameron and the Liberal Democrats’ Nick Clegg in offering MPs a free vote, Mr Johnson told Sky News a compromise would be found.

“I believe... once we have discussed all these issues and seen all the safeguards in the bill, that there will not be a split, but there will be an accommodation for those who have a particular sensitivity around this, including those whose sensitivity relates to their faith,” he said.

He added: “Look at what happened in the House of Lords. Find me anybody there who was forced to vote against their conscience. You won’t find them and that will be the case in the Commons, I am absolutely convinced of that.”

As Mr Johnson spoke, Downing Street insiders appeared to be hinting that attempts were being made to get the scientific community to speak about the benefits of the proposed research instead of simply allowing ministers to make their arguments for them. "So far we've only heard from one side (Catholic leaders) in that debate," said one.

The row showed no sign of calming, however, with Cardinal O’Connor becoming the most senior Catholic clergyman to call publicly for Labour MPs to be granted a free vote when the bill is debated in May.

“I think Catholics in politics have got to act according to their Catholic convictions, so have other Christians, so have other politicians," he told Sky News.

“Certainly, there are some aspects of this bill on which I believe there ought to be a free vote, because Catholics and others will want to vote according to their conscience. I don’t think it should be subject to the party whip.”

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