Universities: We'll charge full top-up fee

University vice-chancellors today warned that they are all likely to charge the full £3,000 top-up allowed by the Government as the Commons row over course fees gathered pace.

The warning blew a hole in one of Education Secretary Charles Clarke's key defences: that many colleges would charge much less than the maximum, allowing students to match courses to their resources.

Newcastle University has already said it will charge the maximum. Now the Coalition of Modern Universities, representing former polytechnics, has said its members are likely to follow suit.

CMU chairman Professor Mike Driscoll, vice-chancellor of Middlesex University, said today: "My own gut feeling is that every university in the country will charge £3,000." The warning-echoes critical findings of an inquiry by the House of Commons education select committee.

Tony Blair will next week put his personal authority on the line in a bid to save top-up fees from humiliating defeat at the hands of Labour MPs. In a weekend television interview, he plans to serve notice to the rebels that he will not back down.

And he will mount a robust defence at his regular monthly press conference, hoping to force wavering backbenchersto fall into line. The public get-tough strategy comes after a £515 million package of concessions failed to buy off discontented MPs yesterday.

Senior MPs took turns to savage the proposals when the package was unveiled by Mr Clarke.

D-Day for the Government is 27 January when more than 100 Labour MPs are still threatening to vote no with the Tories and Liberal Democrats.