London - The debate erupted anew in Britain Friday on whether to end centuries of discrimination against women and Roman Catholics in rules governing the accession to the throne.

The government confirmed that Prime Minister Gordon Brown had discussed reform of the 308-year-old law on succession with Queen Elizabeth II during his weekly audiences with her.

The so-called Act of Settlement of 1701 bars members of the royal family from succeeding to the throne if they marry Roman Catholics and stipulates that a woman in the line of succession is automatically superseded by a younger male sibling.

Brown, speaking while during a visit to Latin America, said there was "no easy set of answers" to the complex issues involved.

"But I think in the 21st century people do expect discrimination to be removed and they do expect us to be looking at all these issues," he said.

The development coincided with an opinion poll published by the BBC which showed that 81 per cent of Britons want the ban on Catholics to be lifted and 89 per cent want equal rights for female members of the royal family.

According to the poll, 76 per cent of Britons want the monarchy to continue after the current queen, while 18 per cent favoured Britain becoming a republic.

Royal commentators pointed out that the current debate reflected the "thinking" of Prince Charles, the current heir to the throne, on changes that should be made.

As things stand at present, Charles' oldest son, Prince William, could not become king if he married a Roman Catholic. If the ancient rules were changed, Princess Anne would be given equal rights and become fourth in line to the throne, behind Prince Harry.

The marriage rule goes back to the Glorious Revolution of 1688, when the Roman Catholic James II was overthrown in favour of the Protestant William of Orange.

Rewriting the Act of Settlement requires the consent of all 53 Commonwealth countries, of which 15 have the British monarch as the head of state.

Brown hoped to discuss his proposals with members of the grouping at the Commonwealth summit in November, reports said. (dpa)