But he stopped short of using the word "sorry" in a historic statement to a hushed parliament.

He was bowing to years of public pressure to acknowledge the suffering endured by the so-called stolen generations - aboriginal children who were taken from their families and placed with white foster parents or put into orphanages.

The opposition leader, Kim Beazley, moved to replace Mr Howard's motion of regret with an unreserved apology but was unsuccessful.

'Form of genocide'

Aborigines have pursued a long and often bitter campaign to achieve official recognition of the injustices suffered by them.

A report by the Australian human rights commission described the past policy of removing children from their families as a form of genocide.

The BBC's red Harrisoin in Sydney: Mr Howard said the present generation could not be blamed for the past

Mr Howard's statement, which came after many hours of negotiations with newly-elected aboriginal senator Aiden Ridgeway, acknowledged past mistreatment and reaffirmed the commitment to reconciliation with Australia's 400,000 aborigines.

From 1910 until the 1970s, some 100,000 aboriginal children were taken from their parents.

Light-skinned aboriginal children were handed over to white families for adoption. Dark-skinned children were put in orphanages.

Many were abused after being separated from their families.

John Howard: "Deep and sincere regret"

The statement is seen as a major breakthrough after considerable resistance by Mr Howard to making a formal apology.

Mr Howard's motion, which was passed by parliament, acknowledged "that the mistreatment of many indigenous Australians over a significant period represents the most blemished chapter in our national history".

The statement was prepared following consultation with key aboriginal leaders including the former chairwoman of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission, Dr Lowitja O'Donoghue, herself a victim of the policy. She said she was elated with the statement.

But Tracker Tilmouth, a member of the stolen generation who is Director of the Central Land Council, condemned the statement as "limp-wristed and a bit soft".

Case fails

As Mr Howard was making his statement, an aborigine woman taken from her mother at birth by New South Wales authorities lost a legal battle against the state.

Joy Williams, 57, was seeking unspecified compensation, claiming the state breached its duty to care for her when they took her from her mother at birth and placed her in an orphanage.

But New South Wales Supreme Court Justice Alan Abadee ruled that there was no duty of care imposed on the Aborigines Welfare Board, or AWB, the state body which dealt with indigenous Australians.

In his judgement, Judge Abadee argued the case did not concern so-called stolen generation issues because he found that Ms Williams was not taken against the will of the mother.

"Irrespective of today's standards it was felt that in the 1940s that assimilation of aborigines into the community was in the best interests of the aborigines," said Judge Abadee.

Lawyers for Ms Williams, who was not present for the decision, said they would probably appeal.