¡¡LONDON, March 7 (Xinhuanet) -- The British government's controversial new anti-terrorism legislation were defeated Monday by the upper house of parliament in a bid to ensure that all control orders are made by the courts rather than the Home Secretary.

    The British government had meant for only the more serious control orders involving house arrest to be overseen by judges.

    The Lords voted by 249 to 119 during the detailed committee stage of debate on the Prevention of Terrorism Bill. Lawmakers will get the chance to look again at peers' amendments when the bill returns to the House of Commons, the lower part of Britain's parliament, on Wednesday.

    The Home Office said: "The government continues to believe thatthe bill as passed by the House of Commons strikes the right balance between protecting the security of the nation and safeguarding individual liberty."

    "The Commons will consider the bill as returned by the Lords," it was quoted by a BBC report as saying.

    British Prime Minister Tony Blair's spokesman also said the government was still determined to get the legislation through.

    On Sunday, former Metropolitan Police chief Sir John Stevens accused opponents of being naive to the threat, saying there were up to 200 al-Qaeda "terrorists" in the country.

    The British government tabled new legislation after the law lords ruled in December that current provisions for detention without trial were unlawful.

    Ahead of Monday's voting, British Home Secretary Charles Clarkehad offered some concessions in a bid to get the bill through quickly by agreeing to hand over the power to place terror suspects under house arrest to the courts.

    The current Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001 expireson March 14. Enditem