Dismay at out-of-step George Osborne

The Shadow Chancellor was the most prominent figure to break with David Cameron and vote against any reduction in the time limit for abortions.

Shadow Transport Secretary Theresa Villiers was the only other member of the shadow Cabinet to vote against attempts to reduce the threshold to 22 or 20 weeks in Tuesday night's free vote in the Commons.

Shadow chancellor George Osborne backed the Labour government over abortion laws

Mr Osborne also voted against former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith's call for fatherhood to be recognised when decisions about fertility treatment are being made.

The Government insisted that making IVF clinics consider a child's need for a father or male role model discriminated against lesbian couples and single women, though both groups can already get fertility treatment on the NHS.

Francis Maude, a prominent "moderniser", and Nick Herbert, who is openly gay, were the only other members of the Conservative shadow Cabinet to back the Government on the issue.

Mr Cameron voted in favour because the issue of fatherhood goes to the heart of his message that Britain is in the grip of social breakdown.

He also voted in support of unsuccessful attempts to bring the abortion limit down from 24 weeks to 22 and 20 weeks.

Mr Osborne's votes put him out of step with the vast majority of Tory MPs.

In all, 92 per cent of them voted to prevent the Government ending a requirement for fertility clinics to consider a baby's need for a father when assessing women for treatment.

Of Labour MPs, 82 per cent were opposed to such a recognition.

There was a similar divide when it came to the unsuccessful attempts to bring down the time limit for abortion.

Sources close to Mr Cameron said he was "entirely relaxed" about Mr Osborne's stance.

"This was an absolutely free vote and simply a genuine difference of opinion between them," said one.

A spokesman for Mr Osborne said: "George has never made any secret of the fact that he is socially liberal in his views."

Other Tory MPs voting against a reduction in the abortion age to 22 weeks, the closest vote, were Tony Baldry, John Baron, John Bercow, Paul Beresford, Crispin Blunt, David Curry, Stephen Dorrell, James Duddridge, Philip Dunne, Edward Garnier, Robert Key, Julie Kirkbride, Greg Knight, Jacqui Lait, Ian Liddell-Grainger, Andrew MacKay, John Maples, Anne McIntosh, Patrick Mercer, John Penrose, David Tredinnick, Andrew Tyrie, Peter Viggers, Bill Wiggin and George Young.

The Vatican last night condemned Britain's move to legalise animal-human hybrids for experimentation.

Bishop Elio Sgreccia, the president of the Pontifical Academy of Life, described such embryos as 'horrors' and said their creation constituted an 'offence against the dignity of Man'.

Comments in  yesterday's coverage  were wrongly attributed through a news agency error to Ian Lucas, MP for Wrexham.

Mr Lucas voted against all proposed amendments to the Bill and for the present 24 week limit on abortion to be maintained and made no criticism of the Prime Minister's conduct.

The comments were made by a man of the same name, Ian Lucas, campaign manager for the All-Party Parliamentary Pro-Life Group.

We apologise for the confusion.