Gordon Brown denied the claims that he bought off MPs over the terror Bill

Gordon Brown today angrily denied that he had "bought" victory in the 42-days vote by making an unprincipled deal with Northern Ireland MPs.

"There were no deals," the Prime Minister insisted at a press conference that was dogged by sceptical questions about how he engineered his nine-vote win in the Commons.

Allegations were flying around Westminster that Mr Brown sanctioned a fortune of extra public money for the province to secure the nine Democratic Unionist Party votes.

In dramatic scenes after the 315 to 306 result was announced, Conservatives jeered "you've been bought" at the Ulster contingency.

Mr Brown made clear he felt the accusation was an insult to himself and the DUP who, he said, had made their decision purely on the arguments.

"There was no deal. There was no deal with the Democratic Unionist Party, no deal with the Ulster unionists generally," he said.

"And I think for people to imply that is to take away from the strength of the argument about the need to tackle terrorism."

He said the accusers were "impugning the reputation of people who are concerned about terrorism".

No MPs were more aware of the dangers of terrorism than the DUP, who have lived with IRA attacks for decades.

He went on: "And I believe that the people who voted for this voted on principle because they are persuaded by the argument."

But Mr Brown's victory was looking hollow today as members of the Lords said they would overturn the counter-terror Bill.

Michael Martin reads the results of the controversial vote to the House of Commons

Packed: Standing room only ahead of tonight's crunch terror vote

Rebel Labour peers promised the plan to hold suspects for up to 42 days without charge faced a " roasting" at the hands of a lethal alliance in the Lords.

Critics also claimed the concessions handed out by the Prime Minister to appease MPs had left the package wide open to legal challenges if it ever reached the statute books.

Baroness Kennedy, the Labour peer and civil rights campaigner, said: "The Prime Minister might find he is getting a bit of a roasting at the other end of Parliament.

"The House of Lords will chew this up  -  and the difference is that the Government does not have a majority in the Upper House."

She warned: "There will be a very significant Labour rebellion."

Former Attorney General Lord Goldsmith said the "thinness of the Commons majority" justified the Lords blocking the Bill.

He attacked it as a "symbol of political virility" for Mr Brown and revealed for the first time that he would have resigned if plans for 90-day detentions had not been quashed in the Commons two years ago.

Vowing to oppose 42-day detentions, the peer criticised Home Secretary Jacqui Smith for suggesting he was a late convert.

"I opposed 90 days when in government," he said. "I lost within government but I could not have voted for it and I would have resigned."

The widespread view was that Mr Brown had used up part of his authority to survive the vote. In the end 36 Labour MPs rebelled  -  a greater number than Labour's election majority.

London MPs were at the forefront of the revolt but other rebels were allegedly bought off with promises that ranged from compensation for sick miners and possible payouts to anyone wrongly detained.

More outlandish deals were said to involve help for one MP in getting a safe seat at the next election, easing sanctions on Cuba and even haggling over the governorship of Bermuda.

Shadow home secretary David Davis, who today announced his resignation as an MP, said: "We won the argument, the Government bought the votes."

The Conservatives claimed the rumoured deals added up to £1.2billion of public money, with the biggest sums going on higher spending in Northern Ireland.

During the debate, Hackney North MP Ms Abbott accused the Prime Minister of running a "grubby bazaar" to buy votes.

She said ministers were "playing ducks and drakes with civil liberties" for the sake of short-term gain in the polls.

The close-run Commons vote will make it harder for the Prime Minister to impose his will in the Lords.

Mr Brown is willing to use the Parliament Act if necessary to overturn any defeats by peers but this is usually reserved for cases where the Commons has shown a settled will.

Former health secretary Mr Dobson urged the Lords to stand firm, saying: "If you drew up their job specification, I think standing up for ancient liberties and the Magna Carta must rank high."

Today, speaking on Radio 4, DUP MP Gregory Campbell warned that his party would continue to exercise its new-found power over the Government.

Gordon Brown's costly Commons victory on anti-terror laws was today threatened with being overturned.

Rebel Labour peers promised a 'roasting' for the plan to hold suspects up to 42 days without charge at the hands of a lethal alliance of heavyweight critics in the House of Lords.

At the same time, critics claimed the series of concessions handed out by the Prime Minister to appease MPs had left the package wide open to legal challenges if it ever made the statute books.