Lib Dem chiefs have narrowly managed to avoid a conference porn embarrassment.

Tuesday's closing debate at the Liberal Democrats Brighton conference set up dream copy opportunities for news headline writers.

Delegates narrowly backed their leadership's pleas to shelve calls for a more relaxed stance on hardcore pornography.

Home affairs spokesman, Simon Hughes, returned early from Westminster's emergency Iraq debate with a humble request for the party faithful.

The clearly uncomfortable senior Lib Dem was forced to lobby conference delegates via a special dispensation from the chair for a delayed decision.

And after a tight vote - 259 to 228 - the leadership succeeded in putting off any further discussion until next year's conference.

Behind the scenes, party managers were concerned that calls to liberalise the sex industry would send the wrong image as the country debated the possibility of war on Iraq.

Charles Kennedy insisted that he was "not seeking to stage manage" a motion on the regulation of pornography tabled by the Lib Dem Youth and Students movement.

But the leadership - which had failed to submit any amending or postponing motions - was forced to scramble the controversial policy shift into the long grass.The motion called for censorship laws to be relaxed, allowing those over 16 to access hardcore "consensual porn".

Sex shop licensing should be made cheaper and the government should regulate porn workers to ensure "good working conditions", argued the party's youth wing.

"The consensual viewing of pornography that portrays all forms of sexuality involving consenting adults is acceptable in today's society," said activists.

Party fixers worried that an opposing resolution decrying "the increased prevalence and visibility of pornography in the popular media" would lead to an embarrassing row were confirmed in their fears.

As younger delegates cheered, sex shop owner Julia Gash backed the liberalisation charge.

To nods of agreement from older and feminist Lib Dems, councillor Nasser Butt opposed the move.

And far from sidelining the issue the Butt versus Gash clash moved the debate centre stage as other conference issues were overshadowed by events elsewhere.

In a last ditch plea to the conference, Hughes said the Lib Dems needed a "joined up policy" and accused the youth group of producing ill-informed policy.

"There is nothing in the motion about how we protect children under the agreed age from inappropriate material, there are extreme forms of pornography which although technically legal are arguably demeaning and these aren't considered at all in the motion," he said.

"We need to have policy in law to regulate the internet both in the UK and the EU and that is not dealt with here."

Calling on delegates to postpone debate and allow the Lib Dem Federal Policy Committee to weigh the issues, Hughes insisted he was not "copping out".

"Absolutely not a cop out but absolutely serious policy-making on a rightfully important issue," he said.

Responding, Lib Dem student leader Alison Goldsworthy asked Hughes why he had not tabled a leadership motion through the proper conference procedures.

"Why, in fact, if you were concerned about this did you not submit a motion yourself? It is time for our parliamentary party to stop ignoring amendment deadlines and start listening to what members of this party actually want," she said to applause from the floor.