Gordon Brown last night sought to appease angry MPs by assuring them �we understand your anxieties� over the problems faced by the low-paid after scrapping the 10p income tax rate.

Gordon Brown last night sought to appease angry MPs by assuring them "we understand your anxieties" over the problems faced by the low-paid after scrapping the 10p income tax rate.

In an unusual move, the Prime Minister attended the second consecutive Commons meeting of the Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP) but unlike last time when angry words were exchanged, he appeared "calmer, more human and more sympathetic", according to an ex-minister.

After a fleeting reference to the 10p tax issue in his STUC speech earlier, Mr Brown seemed to have res-ponded to the charge that "Gordon isn't listening" but his assurance was not enough for more than 35 Labour MPs who signed a rebel motion that challenges his decision to scrap the 10p rate.

The PM said: "I understand how difficult it is when food and fuel prices are rising. It's difficult out there. People want to know that we get it. We understand their anxieties. We will not allow people to go into poverty."

Mr Brown outlined the UK Government's record on helping the less well-off, mentioning tax credits, the national minimum wage and winter fuel allowance.

But the PM warned his colleagues "we cannot have a Budget defeat" - a reference to next week's vote when a rebel amendment from Frank Field, the former Welfare Reform Minister, will seek to force Mr Brown to bring forward a compensation package.

In a rallying call with a clear reference to the damage the party row is doing to Labour's chances in the May 1 poll in England, Mr Brown said: "We have a responsibility to listen, to hear and to understand what has been said," adding: "But there is a responsibility on all of us to unite."

After the hour-long meet-ing, back benchers appeared upbeat. "He's done enough to take the sting out of the rebellion," said an MP, worried about the tax issue.

In one crucial signal, the PM pledged: "The process will lead to action." Yet, many Labour back benchers want details of how and when a compensation package will be delivered to help the low-paid, mainly single under 25s and put by one think-tank at 5.3 million. Trouble could still lie ahead.

Indicating how some loyalists felt aggrieved by the 10p rebels, Gerald Kaufman, the veteran back bencher, referring to Mr Field, said he was "sick and tired of rent-a-quotes", who, after serving as ministers, reconsidered their positions "the minute their bottoms hit the back benches".

Earlier, Yvette Cooper, the Treasury Minister, outlined to MPs how the childless poor would be included in a wider review on poverty. She indicated there might be compensatory measures in the autumn Pre-Budget Report.

Over the next few days, Alistair Darling will have private meetings with concerned MPs to reassure them something will be done and in the process limit any embarrassment in next week's vote.

Elsewhere, in backing the Bank of England's dramatic £50bn injection into the money markets to help unfreeze them, the Chancellor made clear the benefits to ordinary mortgage holders could take time. Earlier, he told the BBC: "There's no quick fix."

Today, he will meet the Council of Mortgage Lenders to tell them he hopes they will be able to pass on interest rate cuts to their customers as quickly as possible.