The upper house of Parliament, or House of Lords, in Britain has voted to retain a controversial law barring schools from promoting homosexuality.

The Lords voted by a majority of forty-five to reject a government proposal to repeal the law, known as Section 28, which was introduced by the previous Conservative administration.

The vote followed hours of tense debate.

Supporters of Section 28 say that it protects children and traditional family life.

The government says the law must be scrapped to stop discrimination against gay people and to prevent homophobic bullying in schools.

The BBC political correspondent says the defeat is an embarrassment for the government which sees the repeal of Section 28 as a key civil rights issue.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service