London - Gay rights campaigners celebrated last night after the House of Commons voted overwhelmingly to lower the age of consent for homosexuals from 18 to 16 - the same as for heterosexuals.
In a free vote, MPs came down 336 to 129, a majority of 207, in favour of an amendment which will bring the British age of consent for homosexuals into line with that of the rest of the EU, bar Austria. Their decision looks likely to be challenged in the Lords where a number of bishops and Tory peers oppose the change.