SENIOR Republicans dealt President Bush a significant blow over the treatment of terror suspects last night when they blocked his plan for tough interrogation techniques.

Despite a visit by Mr Bush to Capitol Hill to lobby for the White House legislation, he was defied by a group of senior Republican senators who were backed by Colin Powell, the former Secretary of State.

The Republican-controlled Senate Armed Services Committee voted 15-9 to back softer legislation, in line with the Geneva Conventions, that the President only hours before had said he would not accept.

The split among Republicans came after Mr Bush backed legislation that would still allow the CIA to use harsh interrogation techniques. While Mr Bush says that American operatives would never be allowed to torture detainees, the White House proposal would redefine the Geneva Conventions and shield US personnel from being prosecuted for war crimes.

Defying the White House, three senior Republican senators — John McCain, John Warner and Lindsey Graham — drafted alternative legislation in line with the Conventions. It would end the CIA interrogation of suspects abroad.

General Powell then broke ranks with Mr Bush yesterday, publishing a letter he sent to the senators in which he wrote: “The world is beginning to doubt the moral basis of our fight against terrorism. To redefine Common Article 3 [of the Conventions] would add to those doubts. Furthermore it would put our own troops at risk.”

Mr Bush’s proposal is part of a broader Bill aimed at setting up military tribunals for terror suspects held at Guantanamo Bay. The Republican senators also rejected Mr Bush’s proposal to restrict the amount of evidence available to defendants in terrror trials.

The White House presented the legislation after the Supreme Court declared the current tribunal system as unlawful and in breach of the Geneva Conventions.

Mr Bush is pushing for his tougher legislation seven weeks before November’s mid-term elections, in which the White House is trying to paint the Democrats as weak on terrorism. “It is very important for the American people to understand that in order to protect this country, we must be able to interrogate people who have information about future attacks,” the President said.

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