SMOKING will survive in up to two-thirds of North-East pubs after the Government backed away from an outright ban, the Health Secretary admitted yesterday.

Speaking to The Northern Echo, Patricia Hewitt insisted the bitterly-criticised proposals were still a big step forward because the "vast majority" of the region's workplaces would be smoke-free.

But backbench MPs are already drawing up plans to ambush Ms Hewitt when the Health Bill reaches the Commons, by amending it to ban smoking in all pubs.

David Taylor, the Labour chairman of the 40-strong parliamentary group on smoking and health, said: "I'm confident we can change this botched and unworkable legislation."

The all-party group will meet in a fortnight to draw up amendments to force the Government to ban smoking in food-free pubs, as well as in those that serve meals.

However, Mr Taylor admitted he was less confident that the planned exemption for private clubs, including workingmen's clubs, could be removed.

The plotting got under way as criticism of Ms Hewitt intensified for announcing a partial smoking ban in pubs, an arrangement she has previously admitted is "unworkable".

Yesterday, a survey by the Publican industry magazine found that one in five pubs across England and Wales planned to stop selling food, in order that customers could smoke.

Even before that, 64 per cent of pubs in Tony Blair's Sedgefield constituency will escape a ban, with high levels of exemptions in Darlington and Wear Valley, both at 55 per cent.

Ms Hewitt accepted that one of the disadvantages of her proposal was that there were more non-food pubs in poorer communities, compared to numbers in affluent neighbourhoods.

But she told The Northern Echo: "Even if two-thirds of pubs in the North-East decide to permit smoking, it will still be a very small minority of workplaces.

"It will remain the case that the vast majority of workers across the North-East will be working in a totally smoke-free environment by 2007."

Ms Hewitt attempted to counter criticism by bringing forward implementation of the ban in restaurants and food-serving pubs by 12 months, to 2007.

But Mr Taylor said: "I have called a meeting of the all-party group for early November, at which we will be co-ordinating tactics to amend the Bill to have the desired effect.

"It would be foolish for me to say we can turn it into a total ban, including members-only clubs, but there should be a ban throughout food and non-food pubs."

Meanwhile, the Conservatives announced they would give their MPs a free vote on the issue, but with the aim of protecting the health of all bar staff.