Labour attacks Howard

The pre-election skirmishing boiled over into open warfare today as Labour unleashed a ferocious attack on Michael Howard's "nasty and opportunistic" leadership.

Labour bosses turned their fire on the Opposition leader as the Tories unveiled eyecatching plans to clamp down on illegal gipsy camps.

The tough proposals are the latest in a line of populist initiatives that have seen the Tory camp dominate the agenda in the run-up to the election, almost certainly on 5 May.

In a sign that Labour is rattled by the Conservatives' recent successes, Environment Secretary Margaret Beckett today launched an ill-tempered assault on Mr Howard.

"What his campaign is showing is that he has no vision for the country, no vision for our economy or society or public services, and so bounces around, one day asylum seekers, the next day women and abortion, then handguns, then it's gipsies. It is not just opportunistic, it is nasty," she said.

Mrs Beckett claimed Mr Howard was "bouncing" from issue to issue without putting forward solutions to problems, and his "flip-flops" on Iraq and Northern Ireland showed he was "unfit to lead the country".

The attack came as Mr Howard promised to change the law on trespass to prevent illegal gipsy encampments.

He promised to overhaul the ancient trespass laws so travellers could be fined or jailed if they set up illegal sites.

"People claim it's racist to raise this issue," he said. "It is not. It has nothing to do with race. It's about making sure that people abide by the law."

Mr Howard said travellers were abusing laws, in particular the Human Rights Act, to build settlements wherever they liked.

Lord Falconer, the Lord Chancellor, said plans to change the trespass law were "madcap". He said the problems arose when travellers bought land and built sites without planning permission.

"Trespass as a criminal offence is such a madcap idea. What you are talking about here is people who buy land. How can you trespass on your own land?" At the moment trespass is a civil offence and landowners have to go to court to remove illegal encampments.

Mr Howard said the Tories would make trespass by travellers a criminal offence. He said a Conservative government would also reform the Human Rights Act so it could not be used to frustrate the law against unauthorised development, and give councils the power to remove illegal caravans and courts more power to impose larger fines.

Announcing the plans, Mr Howard said: "The same rules should apply to everyone. There are too many in Britain today who hide behind socalled human rights."

Downing Street said the problem was a lack of designated camps for travellers. "If you move on illegals they have to have somewhere to go," said a spokesman.