London, January 12:

A complete ban on smoking in pubs and clubs across England looked likely yesterday after the UK government bowed to pressure to allow MPs a free vote and the health secretary, Patricia Hewitt, responded by saying she would back a full ban.

Downing Street would not say how Blair plans to vote when it announced the move, which avoids the prospect of an embarrassing backbench rebellion. But it seems highly probable that the health bill will be amended when it returns to the House of Commons early next month, overturning a cabinet compromise which would have allowed smoking to continue in private clubs and pubs that do not serve food.

In a complex series of Commons manoeuvres a partial ban will still be voted on first before MPs are offered the chance to extend it along the lines of the ban planned for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The outcome is not certain, with some MPs suggesting yesterday that a combination of Tory, Labour and Liberal Democrat opponents could join forces to block a full ban.

That looks unlikely given the strength of opinion on the Labour benches and the lead set by Hewitt, who has made little secret of her impatience with the government’s compromise position.