HIGHLY controversial plans to change the British legal system and set up a supreme court have been branded "constitutional vandalism" by Lord Stoddart of Swindon.

In a damning critique, the town's former Labour MP personally attacked Tony Blair and accused him of selling out the nation's history in a rush to get re-elected.

He said: "I find it hard to believe that even this Prime Minister could take arrogance to such lengths, or subvert the constitution because that is what he is doing to his own general election timetable."

Lord Stoddart was scathing of the lack of consultation over the plans, which if approved would see the historic post of Lord Chancellor scrapped and the House of Lords dumped as the highest court in the land. Despite the huge implications of the moves, they were made public in an unexpected announcement by the Prime Minister last summer which took the political and legal world by surprise.

The Swindon peer said going about fundamental reform in this fashion was unacceptable.

He said: "The failure of the government to consult invites the charge that they are careless of our constitution and that they are guilty of the charge of authoritarianism and of imposing an elective dictatorship on Britain.

"They do not even have the fig leaf of a specific manifesto commitment to use in their defence."

Lord Stoddart joined a parliamentary rebellion on Monday that voted to stall the plans by forcing them to undergo detailed scrutiny in a committee.

The Government has now threatened to use special powers to force through the changes.

But Lord Stoddart insisted peers should stick to their guns in holding up the plans, and not to be "intimidated by the threats of reprisals from government ministers".

Other Lords raised serious questions about the revamp, including the potential for soaring costs. The bill for running the House of Lords as a judicial body is £623,000, against the estimated costs of the supreme court of up to £8.7 million.

Catherine Turnbull