Plans for Lords shake-up confirmed

The Queen's Speech has confirmed plans to abolish the remaining 92 hereditary peers in the House of Lords and to abolish the office of Lord Chancellor and create a new supreme court.

There will also be legislation preventing convicted criminals from sitting in the Lords, a move seen by some as designed to prevent Lord Archer resuming his seat.

Measures to prevent scandals over the retention of organs without consent from the families were announced, one of few moves not widely previewed.

Parents of children who had their bodies stripped of organs without giving their permission said they were "delighted" by the inclusion of the Human Tissue Bill in the Government's legislative programme.

It follows events at the Royal Liverpool Children's Hospital in Alder Hey and the Bristol Royal Infirmary after it emerged that many children's bodies had been buried with major organs missing and stored without proper consent.

The Bill would make consent "the fundamental principle underpinning the lawful removal, retention and use of human bodies, body parts, organs and tissue".

Downing Street said the Queen's Speech "is about fairness and the future".

No 10 said: "It's about facing up to the challenges of the future, but doing so in a way that pursues social justice."

This is Mr Blair's seventh programme unveiled by the Queen and is designed to show the Government is not running out of steam after six years in power.

There are four more Bills announced than last year, including the two carried over from the last parliamentary term.

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