Pro-life group to 'name and shame' MPs

Abortion was confirmed as a key general election issue today when it emerged that MPs are to be " named and shamed" by pro-life and religious groups.

The Society for the Protection of the Unborn Child (SPUC) announced that it would reveal the views of all Parliamentary candidates in a bid to target those who opposed new curbs on abortion law.

Tony Blair also faced fresh pressure over the issue after the Roman Catholic Church backed Tory leader Michael Howard's call for a cut in the legal limit from 24 to 20 weeks. Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor made a dramatic intervention in the election campaign by making clear that Labour was no longer the party of choice for Britain's six million Catholics.