Blair faces showdown

Tony Blair today geared up for his most serious confrontation yet with the Lords as he vowed to force through plans to scrap the post of Lord Chancellor and set up a new supreme court.

The constitutional reform Bill - a flagship Government measure - is in danger of collapsing tonight after an alliance of law lords, Tories and cross-bench peers threatened to vote it down.

Furious ministers made clear the battle went far beyond a single measure, calling it a decisive clash of wills. They threatened retaliation, with a permanent curb on the Lords' powers, if their opponents succeed.

Peter Hain, leader of the Commons, said that in the event of defeat the measure would be transferred to the Commons and pushed through regardless. Downing Street also voiced defiance. The Prime Minister's official spokesman said: "We cannot be in a position where we are hostage to the Lords on major issues of reform."

But the Lord Chancellor himself today took a more conciliatory line. Questioned on the BBC's Today programme, Lord Falconer said the Lords could and should have the right to debate the measure in full under their normal procedures.

Hardline tactics risk a serious constitutional clash not just with the Tories but with the most senior members of the judiciary, headed by the Lord Chief Justice, Lord Woolf. He savaged the proposals last week, saying a supreme court would be a recipe for "second-class" justice.

Lord Falconer strongly hinted that the Government might be ready to rethink another proposal savagely criticised by Lord Woolf - to cut down the appeal rights of asylum seekers.

Ministers are ready to listen to suggestions as to how those plans, which have been strongly attacked by human rights groups, might be amended, Lord Falconer said.

Tonight's constitutional reform vote was triggered by another law lord, Lord Lloyd, who has called for the Bill to be handed to a special committee for additional scrutiny.

Ministers have up to now called that a deliberate attempt to "wreck" the measure, since the delay would mean it could not be passed until after the next election.

And the Government has been threatening to abolish the rule which allows some measures to start their course in the Lords rather than the Commons. The constitutional reform Bill was itself brought in under that procedure.

Mr Hain claimed "Michael Howard's lieutenants" were inciting the Lords to defy the elected Commons - a move he called "totally unacceptable". And Home Secretary David Blunkett said the true issue was whether judges or politicians should rule. He added: "The question is, do we have a democracy where Parliament actually makes the decisions?"

Voicing a concern shared by other ministers, Mr Blunkett said that while judges did have a role in overturning wrong-headed ministerial decisions, the power had been built up "beyond anything anybody ever envisaged".