Millions more parents will be able to work part-time or at home under proposals that could extend the right to request flexible employment for those with children up to the age of 17.

In the first Queen’s Speech since Gordon Brown became Prime Minister, the Government also outlined plans to make it easier to strike off doctors, legislation to protect “have-a-go heroes” and plans to require immigrants to learn English.

In total the speech contained 32 measures, one of the largest of recent years. The Conservatives accused Mr Brown of “magpie politics”, claiming that he had stolen their plans on flexible working.

Among the measures proposed were:

— Plans to change the burden of proof from “beyond reasonable doubt” to “the balance of probabilities” when professionals face fitness-to-practise hearings;

— Allowing people to use “reasonable force” to defend themselves;

— Plans to require immigrants to learn English and sign up to British values before becoming citizens;

— A ban on parents choosing the sex of their children, but same-sex couples being given the right to fertility treatment;

— Three million new homes to be built by 2020, many in ten new “eco-towns”;

— Imposition of curfews and other restrictions on violent criminals even after their sentences have been served;

— Creation of a new “gay hate” crime.

In a ferocious Commons encounter the Prime Minister tried to outflank David Cameron on key policy areas of the family, immigration and terrorism.

With Mr Brown attempting to restore his authority after the debacle of the early election that did not happen, the two leaders took on each other in an increasingly angry confrontation. It was a spectacle that seems set to recur time and again over the next eighteen months to two years.

Downing Street later announced an inquiry by a leading industrialist into how the right to flexible working - currently restricted to the parents of children under 6 - could be extended to cover parents of children under 9, 12 or even 17. Some 6.25 million parents currently have the right to request conditions such as flexitime or working at home; if it applied to all parents of schoolchildren a further 4.5 million would be covered. Officials said that the Government would consult with business, which was supportive of the earlier reforms, before taking final decisions.

Mr Brown and Mr Cameron had chatted earlier — apparently about the crisis in Pakistan — as they strolled from the Commons to the Lords to hear the Queen. But the civilities ended abruptly as the Conservative leader fiercely attacked Mr Brown and compared his dithering over the election with the decisiveness of Tony Blair.

He told Mr Brown that neither he nor his programme represented real change and accused him of taking his “British jobs for British workers” slogan from leaflets issued by the National Front and British National Party. Mr Cameron added: “Isn’t it the case that the only real change we’ve had is to swap a strong prime minister for a weak one?”

Mr Brown rejected the criticism and said: “On energy, housing, pensions, education, work-life balance, citizenship and anti-terrorism measures, the central purpose of this legislative programme is to make the right long-term changes to prepare and equip our country for the future and to meet the rising aspirations of the British people.”

Turning to Mr Cameron’s speech he said: “He may be good on jokes but he was pretty bad on policy.”

The Prime Minister added: “On every major issue — Europe, tax, spending, education for review — he has failed to face up to the big challenges ahead. He is not aiming for opportunity for all, he is failing to meet the stability test. Unaffordable tax cuts and the threat to stability are too big a risk for this country.”

The exchanges reached boiling point when Mr Cameron interrupted Mr Brown’s speech and asked him to look him in the eye and say that he was planning to change inheritance tax before the Conservatives announced their plans at their party conference.

The House roared as Mr Brown said: “The answer is yes. An unequivocal yes. And all the records will show it under whatever rule they are released under freedom of information.”

Last night Labour sources said that the information would be given if the request for it were made under the Act. It is understood that Mr Brown removed a plan to cut inheritance tax from his March Budget at the last minute and that similar proposals were being considered by Alistair Darling soon after he became Chancellor.

With immigration moving up the political agenda the Government is expected to add provisions to the Criminal Justice and Immigration Bill during its passage, possibly to tighten further the migrant worker system and to set out rights and responsibilities of new citizens.The biggest row of the new session appears likely on the anti-terrorism Bill, where the Government signalled its intention to extend the time that terrorist suspects can be detained without charge, which the opposition parties oppose.

Vince Cable, the Liberal Democrats’ acting leader, said: “The legislative programme is firmly rooted in the Blair era. No ideas, no vision. Is this what we have been waiting for?”

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