Call for a British Supreme Court

One of Britain's most senior judges has called for a US-style Supreme Court which would see judges removed from the House of Lords.

The remarks from senior law lord Lord Bingham are seen as a direct challenge to the Lord Chancellor Lord Irvine, whose dual role as a judge and government minister, has caused concern among the profession.

The setting up of a Supreme Court would end a tradition dating back hundreds of years with the House of Lords being the final court of appeal.

Lord Bingham said that to "modern eyes" the current position where the Lords, a legislative body, should have judicial power, was anomalous. He said the time had come to consider that "law lords are judges, not legislators, and do not belong in a House to whose business they can make no more than a slight contribution".

Only two weeks ago, Lord Irvine dismissed calls for a separate Supreme Court in Britain as the views of a "minority" without the backing of senior judges. He has argued in the past that his own role, as judge and senior politician, is crucial in defending the interests of judges within Cabinet.

Lord Bingham accepts not all law lords favour change, but stresses that a Supreme Court could command confidence. "My disagreement is not based on the premise that our highest courts have failed to deliver. It is based on the view that the world has changed and institutions should change with it."