CULTURE Secretary Tessa Jowell was under growing pressure last night to drop her "bloody-minded" block on Middlesbrough's casino plans.

Opposition parties urged Ms Jowell not to make the town the victim of a separate dispute over whether Manchester should be home to Britain's only super-casino.

The Conservatives and Liberal Democrats are happy to let 16 smaller casino licences - including those earmaked for Middlesbrough and Scarborough - go ahead immediately.

But last night, there was no sign of the Government accepting the compromise.

Ms Jowell has insisted there will be no announcement until after the May 3 local elections - putting the plans in deep freeze for at least five weeks.

The row followed Wednesday night's events, when the Commons cleared the order for all 17 licences - minutes after it had fallen in the Lords.

Lord Strathclyde, the Conservative leader in the Lords, has urged Ms Jowell to table an order covering only the 16 smaller casinos.

Don Foster, the Lib Dem culture spokesman, said: "Tessa Jowell's bloody-minded refusal to accept the obvious compromise is putting her gambling plans in serious jeopardy."

The deadlock means Middlesbrough Council cannot press ahead with tendering for a large casino, boasting 150 slot machines and £4,000 jackpots.

Scarborough has applied for one of eight licences for a small casino, with 80 slot machines.

Joe Docherty, chief executive of Tees Valley Regeneration, which is backing Middlesbrough's bid, said last night: "It is unfortunate from our point of view that the legislation was framed in such a way that all the other casino licences have to stand or fall together.

"We take some comfort from the fact that there is no intention to deny Middlesbrough a large casino, and we therefore hope that the Government and the opposition can sit down and come to some arrangement whereby those towns that were due to get a casino are allowed to do so.

"This would bring hundreds of jobs and millions of pounds of investment and we would be incredibly disappointed if no agreement is reached."

* A revised outline planning application for the Middlehaven site, on the River Tees, will be considered by Middlesbrough councillors today.

Developer Bio Regional Quintain envisages a mixed use development at Middlesbrough dock, encompassing commercial, residential and leisure facilities.

Middlehaven is a possible location for the casino, although it is understood separate planning permission would be required for this.