THOUSANDS more prison places will be built as criminals are dealt with faster and more strictly, Tony Blair signalled yesterday. Brushing aside critics who believe that he has spent too much time passing laws with little effect, he insisted that “wholesale reform” was still needed to address crime.

In a keynote speech with a strong valedictory tone, the Prime Minister pledged new laws to fill gaps in the system, such as summary powers to deal with antisocial behaviour. This would mean instant sentencing powers for police officers, he added later.

Mr Blair told an invited audience at the University of Bristol that they were listening to “in many ways . . . the culmination of a personal journey”, as if to announce his imminent departure from Downing Street.

He called for intervention in problem families as soon as children were born. He also stepped back from amending the Human Rights Act 1998 and instead suggested that there would be new advice to judges on how to interpret it, to take better account of victims.

The prison population yesterday stood at 77,711, which is 1,789 short of capacity, with an extra 900 places due to be added next year. But Mr Blair, who seemed to confess that he was struggling to match up to his 1994 promise to be “tough on crime, tough on the causes of crime”, suggested that even more places were needed.

He added: “There is a myth that we have legislated 50 times, the problem still exists, ergo we don’t need more laws. I disagree. Laws have made a real difference, but they have not been clear or tough enough.

“We need to do an audit of where the gaps are. We need swifter, summary powers to deal with antisocial behaviour. The limits on the seizure of assets of suspects need to be changed.

“ We need to use the law to send strong signals that those who break bail or drug treatment orders or community sentences will get quickly and appropriately punished.”

He concluded: “The blunt reality is that, at least in the short and medium term, the measures proposed will mean an increase in prison places.”

In another admission that he had failed to get to grips with problems in the system, Mr Blair said: “The court system has improved. But let me be honest: it is not what the public expects or wants.”

Signalling another big shake-up, he added: “There is a strong case for handling different types of crime in different ways. We are developing now the concept of community courts, like the ones in Liverpool and Salford, and specialist antisocial behaviour, drugs and domestic violence courts.”

Reforms of the probation system were signalled when he added: “Each offender should be tracked throughout the system, given not just a sentence but an appropriate process for sorting their life out.”

David Davis, the Shadow Home Secretary, said: “Tony Blair claims that everyone is in denial — but he fails to recognise that it is he and his own Government that have failed.

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