LORD Greaves, one of the peers who spoke out against the Throckmorton Asylum Centre, said there was a 'chink of hope' that the plans may be quashed.

The Liberal peer was one of the 171 members in the House of Lords who caused the Nationality, Asylum and Immigration Bill, which included the plans, to be thrown out.

He said: "I had previously inspected the site at Throckmorton and found it to be most unsuitable for asylum seekers.

"The tip next to it is one of the biggest I have ever seen, which is right next to the animal burial ground. No sensible planning committee would pass the plans."

He also said the reason The Home Office kept delaying the plans might be because it was having problems with the Ministry of Defence and Defra's radar base next to the site, and that a public inquiry could turn the plans down.

Lord Greaves said he expected a 'ping pong' between the House of Lords and the House of Commons involving amendments to the Bill. He said: "The Commons may make concessions in order to get the whole Bill through and it may as late as October 30, before recess when they must get it passed. Both houses could be sitting with messages going from one to the other."

After the Lord's result last Wednesday Home Secretary David Blunkett vowed to reverse the Bill's defeat.