THE Dean of Blackburn today said he was "delighted" that the government had been defeated over new laws to combat religious hatred.

The Very Reverend Christopher Armstrong was one of many East Lancashire church leaders who had expressed concern that political correctness surrounding race and religion had "gone mad."

Plans to introduce an offence of incitement to religious hatred were contained in the Racial and Religious Hatred Bill which had already completed its Commons stages last year.

But protestors claimed the Bill would thwart free speech among everyone from comedians to church ministers with its blanket ban on religious expression.

The House of Lords amended it, saying that only a deliberate intention to offend should constitute an offence.

And last night the government suffered two shock defeats over attempts to overturn Lords' changes to the Bill.

In a blow to Tony Blair's authority, MPs voted by 288 votes to 278 to back the key Lords amendment to the Bill. Pendle MP Gordon Prentice was one of 27 Labour backbenchers who joined the revolt.

The Dean said: "This is a victory for democracy and common sense" and added that ministers' proposals had been too far reaching and would have simply criminalised everyday political debate.

He said: "Many people were concerned that this proposed legislation would not only stifle free speech but also actually encourage legalistic attacks on non-religious as well as religious groups.

"If this new law had come into effect -- considerably curtailing British civil liberties -- it would have only be a victory for the terrorists.

"Religions are about beliefs, ideas, philosophies and their practical application in real life and are talked about as commonly as the weather.

"We should all be able to freely accept and debate the differences between our beliefs and if the government tries to curb that I fear we will turn into a nanny state.

"If this bill had been passed it would have done exactly the opposite of what it set out to achieve.

"There are already enough safe guards in place to protect religious and cultural groups from abuse.

"I think that most Christian people would say that to govern opinions and beliefs by law rather than grace is to shoot yourself in your own foot."