Queens Speech

The Queen unveiled the government's legislative programme for the next year, stressing its "overriding priority" was to bolster the economy against looming recession

In a 10-minute speech written by Prime Minister Gordon Brown , the Queen said ministers would introduce a banking bill to boost protection for depositors after a year of turbulence in the sector in Britain.

"My government's overriding priority is to secure the stability of the British economy during the global economic downturn," the queen said.

"My government is committed to helping families and businesses through difficult times. The strength of the financial sector is vital to the future vibrancy of the economy...Therefore legislation will continue to be taken forward to ensure fairer and more secure protection for bank depositors and to improve the resilience of the financial sector." she added.

Brown gave more details afterwards, saying the current voluntary code of practice for banks -- which requires them to give notice if they are going to withdraw credit facilities for customers -- will be made mandatory.Lenders could be fined if they fail to comply.

In addition, he said that households unable to pay their mortgage because a breadwinner has lost a job or had their hours reduced will be able to defer payments for up to two years.Eight lenders, or around 70 percent of the market, have signed up to the scheme, which covers mortgages worth up to 400,000 pounds starting early next year, Brown said.

David Cameron, leader of the main opposition Conservatives, said the government's proposals showed a lack of new ideas."There is no recognition in the government's programme about how the world has changed..."There is no serious reform, there is just bureaucratic bungling, and technocratic tinkering."