Two out of three people 'are against the creation of hybrid embryos'

The law will allow the creation of so-called hybrid embryos by the combination of animal eggs and human nuclei in the laboratory.

The poll results - released a day after news that scientists had created the first part-human, part-animal embryo - showed that 67 per cent of of the 1,000 people questioned were against plans to create such hybrids. Just over half (51 per cent) strongly opposed the proposal.

Cardinal Keith O'Brien - the leader of Scotland's Catholics who last month described plans for the research as "monstrous" - welcomed the poll.

He said: "I am delighted to see that the overwhelming majority of people, like me, are completely opposed to the creation of animal-human hybrids."

The results come after Gordon Brown bowed to pressure for a free vote on the controversial Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill - allowing MPs to follow their consciences rather than their party line.

Under the legislation, hybrid laboratory embryos would not be allowed to gestate, but could be used to harvest stem cells for experimental purposes, before being destroyed within 14 days when they are no larger than a pinhead.

Backers regard the Bill - updating 1990 legislation - as vital for progress in treating and preventing conditions such as Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, cancer and heart disease.

It was revealed yesterday that a team at Newcastle-upon-Tyne University had inserted human skin cells into the hollowed-out egg cells of a cow and successfully brought the egg to life for three days.

The team aims to provide a fast, cheap and reliable way of creating human stem cells from which every type of tissue in the human donor's body can be replicated for medical treatments.

Cardinal Keith O'Brien said of today's poll results: "I sincerely hope that Gordon Brown and all our MPs will take notice of this result and reconsider the need for this legislation.

"It is time the Government focused its attention on supporting and funding stem cell research which is both ethical and effective which is research using adult stem cells.

"Our Government deliberately ignore this proven research in favour of the morally bankrupt blind alley of embryo destruction."

Today's survey by Opinion Research Business for the Catholic Church in Scotland also found that almost two thirds (64 per cent) thought IVF clinics should be required to identify a child's genetic father.