Crime and justice are the key issues for us, says Blair

The Government vowed yesterday to take on the lawyers and judges who had a "vested interest" in opposing its criminal justice reforms and called for a "cultural change" in which ordinary people helped to stamp out "low-level thuggery".

Sweeping changes to the courts and sentencing, and a crusade against anti-social behaviour will form the main planks in the programme for the new parliamentary session, to be outlined in the Queen's Speech on Wednesday.

Yesterday, Tony Blair made it clear that he was shifting his legislative priorities from public services to crime in an attempt to allay public fears. "However much schools and hospitals improve, if people walk out of their doors and are confronted by abuse, vandalism and anti-social behaviour, they will never feel secure or able to take advantage of new opportunities," he said.

In a newspaper article, the Prime Minister sought to head off Labour criticism that his hardline stance on crime was aimed at stealing the Tories' clothes. "Crime and anti-social behaviour is a Labour issue," he said. "In many parts of Britain, in many traditional Labour areas, it is the issue."

A Criminal Justice Bill will bring in tougher sentences for severe offences, including violent and sex crimes. People will be able to be tried twice for the same offence, jury trials will be restricted and previous convictions may be disclosed to the courts.

Cumbersome court procedures will be streamlined, and there will be more "joined up" working between the police, Crown Prosecution Service and other agencies, Mr Blair said.

Ministers are bracing themselves for a backlash from judges and lawyers, and the measures are bound to face stiff opposition in the House of Lords. Yesterday, the human rights group Liberty, the Criminal Bar Association and the Bar Council called the Government's plans "misguided", saying: "We see dangers in the politicisation of the debate over criminal justice."

Mr Blair said the Government would be "confronting the vested interests that hold back change" because Britain had "a 19th-century criminal justice system trying to solve 21st-century crimes".

David Blunkett, the Home Secretary, will lead a group of ministers, officials and experts to tackle anti-social behaviour. He said on the BBC's Breakfast With Frost programme: "We need a cultural change in this country. We need families to teach respect. We need an understanding of the responsibilities as well as rights. And we need to say to people: 'We are not going to tolerate any longer the kind of low-level thuggery and behaviour'."

Tackling anti-social behaviour helped prevent more serious crime by stopping young offenders from developing a belief that they could get away with anything, he said.

The Home Secretary said a Sexual Offences Bill would clamp down on "date rape" without imposing unworkable restrictions on relations between the sexes. "We have to stick to the idea that you have to be proven guilty rather than that you are assumed to be guilty. But we want to assume that if someone makes love they do so with free agreement, not that they are forced to or conned into it," he said.

Oliver Letwin, the shadow Home Secretary, said the Tories would welcome much of the Government's reform agenda but added: "Without police on our streets, and without an effective programme to lift young people off the conveyor belt to crime, new legislation will be an empty gesture."

Simon Hughes, the Liberal Democrats' home affairs spokesman, said: "The big question for Mr Blair is whether his reforms will come with the money needed to make them work. By telling courts about previous convictions or retrying cases, there is a severe risk of injustice for the few with no great gain in justice for the many."

Queen's speech: the main points

* Criminal Justice Bill to rebalance the system in favour of the victim, through court reforms

* Anti-social Behaviour Bill to tackle low-level crimes such as yobbish behaviour

* Sexual Offences Bill to make it easier to secure convictions in rape cases

* Health Bill to allow high-performing hospitals to win "foundation" status with freedom from Whitehall

* Hunting Bill to ban hunting with hounds, possibly through a system of licensed hunts

* Licensing Bill to allow pubs to be open 24 hours

* Communications Bill to set up a super-regulator, Ofcom, and to bring in new rules for cross-media ownership

* Local Government Bill to give councils more freedom and allow for referendums on setting up regional assemblies