UK MPs pass Digital Economy Bill

The Digital Economy Bill was rushed through its third reading last night in the 'wash ups' by 189 votes to 47, despite protests from MPs on all sides of the House.

In a heated Commons debate, former cabinet office minister and Labour MP Tom Watson accused the government of rushing the Bill through parliament, and said that its wording needed to be more carefully considered.

"The speed with which we have had to submit amendments and consider our thoughts on the amendments to this Bill has been at light speed, and people looking in will find this baffling, much as many of us have," he said.

"The wording in the Bill makes it soundsas if there is an assumption of liability when it comes to people receiving notifications.

"I feel certain that the House, straight after the election, could consider all these clauses again and give it the scrutiny it deserves."

Watson also questioned the figures quoted by creative industry lobbying groups to back up their assertion that illegal file sharing is causing them to lose money.

"We have been given a whole host of what I feel are bogus financial economic predictions by lobby groups about the effects of illegal file sharing," he said.

Watson later admitted to voting against his party's position. "First time I've ever broken the whip in the chamber. I feel physically sick," he said in a Twitter post.

Conservative MP Bill Cash, meanwhile, called the Bill a "disgrace", and likened the government's stance on file sharing to the Luddites.

Labour MP Austin Mitchell also voiced his anger, claiming that the Bill was the equivalent of "using a sledgehammer to crack a nut", and that the amendments should have been discussed with greater scrutiny.

Liberal Democrat culture spokesman Don Foster aired his disapproval at the lack of time allowed for proper consideration and called for a full debate after the election.

"It is crucially important that we have maximum opportunity for scrutiny in the new parliament, and an opportunity for an amendable resolution before the very severe technical measures are introduced," he said.

The highly controversial Clause 18, that would allow web sites to be blocked, was removed but replaced with an almost identical clause.

The new clause allows a future secretary of state to use regulations to seek a court injunction to block any web site "which the court is satisfied has been, is being or is likely to be, used for, or in connection with, an activity that infringes copyright".