Peers have backed moves to allow hunting with hounds to continue under license, leaving the government struggling to achieve consensus on the controversial legislation.

Ahead of the key vote, attempts to ban fox hunting had been the subject of fierce debate in both houses of parliament, while Number 10 urged backing for the compromise measure.

During the Lords committee stage of the Hunting Bill, peers voted by 322 to 72 in favour of allowing registered hunting with hounds to continue.

The decision is a challenge to the authority of the Commons, which has repeatedly backed an outright ban.

Number 10 said the prime minister still favoured a compromise on the issue, but environment minister Lord Whitty warned peers that they were "putting us on course for the potential deadlock and therefore potential use of the Parliament Act".