Campaigners have won a high court challenge to current cloning legislation.

The Pro-life Alliance took the case against the government, arguing that the 1990 Human Fertilisation and Embryology act did not safeguard against the creation of an organism through cell nuclear replacement (CNR), the process used to create Dolly the Sheep.

Presiding, Justice Crane ruled that, since the created organism through CNR was not an embryo, it was not covered by the act. He said: "Scientific knowledge has moved on. Not only has nuclear substitution proved to be possible in animals, but it has become clear that CNR has potential for research purposes that was not known in 1990".

Director of the Pro-life Alliance, Bruno Quintavalle said after the ruling: "The upshot of the judgement is that there are no safeguards to stop any form of cloning in this country. The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority has no power to stop it; it isn't a criminal offence and there is nothing that any public authority can do."

Quintavalle argued that the Lords select committee on the act should be disbanded and a new one formed, since it had been working on a false premise. He also called for emergency legislation in this area.

He continued:The Pro-life Alliance challenged the government over their assurances that live birth cloning cannot legally take place in the United Kingdom. Ever since the birth of Dolly the sheep four years ago the government has been pedalling this lie.

"It has deliberately sought to avoid parliamentary debate in this highly controversial field and has been determined to keep from public scrutiny the close links that new Labour has with the biotechnology industry".

The government has been given leave of appeal and a Department of Health statement said: "We will consider very carefully the detail and the implications of this morning's judgment. The department may appeal against the judgment. The department may also consider introducing emergency legislation to ban human reproductive cloning using cell nuclear replacement."

Liberal Democrat health spokesman, Dr Evan Harris said: "Today's ruling clearly demonstrates that the working of the 1990 Act is not capable of sustaining the government's sensible regulations on the use of cloned embryos. If the government does not win an appeal, primary legislation will be needed to ensure that the will of parliament prevails."This ruling does not undermine the ethical or moral basis of the decision of both Houses of Parliament by a large majority to allow medical research to progress in this area."