LONDON, March 9 (Xinhuanet) -- British Prime Minister Tony Blair urged peers to back the government's anti-terrorism bill after theHouse of Commons, the lower part of the British parliament, overturned a series of the House of Lords amendments Wednesday.

¡¡¡¡The lawmakers saw off a bid to put a time limit on the controversial bill which returns to the Lords on Thursday. They also overturned a Lords amendment calling for a higher burden of proof for control orders.

    Blair said it would be irresponsible to water down the bill after earlier ruling out further compromise, citing the bill is vital to stop terror attacks in Britain.

    In a bid to get the bill through quickly, the government had already made major concessions by agreeing to allow judges rather than the government to oversee all control orders -- from house arrest to less serious limits on freedoms such as Internet access.It also agreed that the law would be reviewed by the parliament annually.

    "We have made concessions we think are reasonable ... I hope that satisfies people," Blair told lawmakers.

    "The directly-elected House of Commons has now made its view very, very clear indeed. The security service and the police are advising us that this legislation is necessary to combat terrorismeffectively," he said.

    Main opposition Tory leader Michael Howard had accused Blair ofrefusing to compromise so the bill would fail and he could then claim the ruling Labor were toughest on terror.

    Meanwhile, second-largest opposition Lib Dem leader Charles Kennedy said Britons' civil liberties should be put before Blair'spersonal political pride, calling for further concessions and for those who have control orders imposed on them to be told what the allegation or evidence against them was.

    The British government tabled new legislation after the law lords ruled in December that current provisions for detention of foreign terror suspects without trial or charge were unlawful.

    The core of the new bill is the introduction of control orders for both British and foreign terrorist suspects. These orders, ranging from tagging to house arrest, are intended for cases whereit would not be possible to prosecute someone in court, but where intelligence suggested the person posed a terror risk.

    The current Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001 expireson March 14. If some legislation is not in place by then, the foreign terror suspects held in jail under anti-terror laws without charge or trial since the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks in the United States will have to be released. Enditem