TONY BLAIR will make a frank admission today that Labour has failed to sort out the criminal justice system he came to power pledging to make one of his top priorities.

Mr Blair, who promised in 1994 to be “tough on crime and tough on the causes of crime” will say that most people do not think that Labour has made Britain safer or fairer.

The Prime Minister, who promised yesterday to consider new legislation to stop offenders taking advantage of the Human Rights Act, will admit that the justice system is far from what voters want.

Speaking at the launch of Let’s Talk, a Labour consultation exercise, Mr Blair is expected to say: “I believe people want a society without prejudice but with rules; rules that are fair; that we all play by; and rules that when broken carry a penalty. The truth is most people don’t think we have such a society.

“The problem of crime can be subject to lurid reporting or undue focus on terrible but exceptional cases. But even allowing for this, the fundamental point is valid. Despite our attempts to toughen the law and reform the criminal justice system — reform that has often uncovered problems long untouched — (the criminal justice system) is still the public service most distant from what reasonable people want.”

Mr Blair’s pledge to improve the Human Rights Act followed intense pressure from the Conservatives and the media after several high-profile cases including the decision to allow nine Afghan hijackers to stay in Britain.

He used new proposals on human and animal rights yesterday to try to regain control of the political agenda after three torrid weeks for him and his party, during which Labour has slipped in the polls. He also sent letters to Cabinet ministers spelling out key aims, telling John Reid, the Home Secretary, that his top priority was to shape criminal justice around “targeting the offender and not just the offence . . . to enhance public protection”.

Mr Blair ordered improved management of offenders after the foreign prisoners fiasco, in which more than 1,000 criminals were released when they should have been considered for deportation. Mr Reid was also told to look again at whether new legislation was needed after recent Human Rights Act rulings.

In his letter to Patricia Hewitt, the Health Secretary, Mr Blair told her to continue the pace of reform, despite discontent among some NHS staff over job cuts.

He also told her to get the message about NHS reform over to the public better. In a directive that some will see as an order to spin, Mr Blair said: “I would like you to work with Minister of State Andy Burnham to develop an engagement and communications plan to provide effective support to this massive programme of change.”

After the loans-for-peerages scandal, Jack Straw, the Leader of the Commons, was asked to deliver the next stage of Lords reform and changes to party funding.

Lord Falconer, the Lord Chancellor, conceded that there had been too many occasions when there was evidence of something going wrong with the use of the Human Rights Act. He cited the case of the rapist Anthony Rice, who murdered a woman while on parole.

David Cameron, the Tory leader, said last week that he would repeal the Human Rights Act if it could not be improved. David Davis, the Shadow Home Secretary, said that the Government was catching up with concerns raised by the Tories since the Act was passed in 1998. He told BBC1’s Sunday AM programme: “Tories are not against human rights but we think the way the Government has done it has led to disasters . . . Lord Falconer attacked me three years ago for raising these sorts of problems.”

Times Recommends

• Oh no, Mr Darling: you have failed
• BBC survives dogfight over Kennel Club expose
• Where the Rosetta belongs can’t be set in stone