Howard pledges 'three strikes' rule for burglars

Persistent criminals will face a "three strikes and out" rule under plans announced by Michael Howard today.

The Conservative leader said burglars convicted for the third time should spend a minimum of three years in jail. Dealers of hard drugs should be sentenced to at least seven years for the third offence.

In a drive to put crime at the centre of the election campaign, Mr Howard said Britain had slipped into a moral quagmire under Labour. "We will restore order to Britain. Respect for the law, respect for others and respect for property: these values are the bedrock of our society," he said in a speech in Darlington.

Mr Howard said a Conservative government would build more prisonsand ensure every criminal served their sentence in full.

To restore public confidence, the Conservatives would demand judges set a maximum and minimum sentence for every offender, he said. Every criminal would serve the minimum. But inmates seen as a danger or who behave badly would have to serve the maximum.

The plan would be backed by an ambitious prison building programme which would see 20,000 more places by 2010.

Mr Howard's promise to scrap the early release scheme and impose a "three strikes and out" policy could see an extra 14,000 criminals behind bars. The Tory leader added: "Some people think punishment is a dirty word. But I believe that as a society we have to draw a clear distinction between right and wrong."

Labour accused the Conservatives of double standards over sentencing after Liam Fox, the Tory co-chairman, said he would deal sympathetically with an application by disgraced peer Jeffrey Archer to rejoin the party. Labour's George Foulkes said if the Conservative policies were in place, Lord Archer would still be behind bars.

"If the Tories were serious about what they say about jail they would have spent their time demanding Jeffrey Archer went back to jail. Instead they went around saying they would be happy to see him back in their party," he said.