Senate Democrats last night blocked a Republican plan to allow oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, which has been fought over by environmentalists and the oil industry for more than two decades.

The vast Alaskan refuge is estimated to hold 10 billion barrels of oil. Most Senate Democrats and some moderate Republicans said that the wilderness and its wildlife, including polar bears and peregrine falcons, should be protected. But the majority of Republican Senators called for the area to be exploited to stop a steady slide in US crude oil production.

Ted Stevens, the Republican senator from Alaska, attached the measure to a $453 billion defence spending bill that pays for US troops and weapons programmes in the coming year. Democrats blocked the Bill by filibustering. Although lawmakers were anxious to wrap up work for the year, Republicans failed to get the 60 votes needed to cut off debate on the Bill. The vote was 56-44.

The White House, which sees drilling in the refuge as crucial to the US oil supply, said it would not give up on the plan.

Times Recommends

• Henning Mankell: ‘If Wallander was alive, I wouldn’t be a friend of his’
• Secret society's skull and crossbones for sale
• Nigerian leader vanishes after medical treatment