Court television plan revealed in Queens Speech

Television cameras will go into some courts in England and Wales under a proposal in the Queen's Speech.

The government also intends to create the already announced National Crime Agency.

In a separate move, the government has pledged to increase the use of secrecy in courts to protect national security and the intelligence agencies.

The move is opposed by a wide range of lawyers and campaigners who say it will damage justice.

The proposal to introduce television broadcasting from court is part of the Crime and Courts Bill.

Ministers say they want to "demystify" the justice system and some limited access for television cameras would help. The plan is expected to be confined to very limited circumstances including the Court of Appeal - but excluding broadcasting images of a defendant or witnesses.

The Bill also proposes to establish the National Crime Agency to tackle the most serious and organised crime and strengthen border security. The new agency will take over all of the work of Soca and also cover sexual abuse and exploitation of children and cyber crime.

The Queen said that the bill would also reform courts and tribunals in England and Wales to increase efficiency, transparency and judicial diversity.

The proposals include changing the way judges are appointed and establishing a single system for family courts. Judges will also be allowed to move more easily between different courts.

The Justice and Security Bill aims to expand the use of special "closed" sessions in cases in which claims are being made against the UK's intelligence agencies. The government has been increasingly concerned that it is under pressure to release sensitive national security material to the public, such as in recent compensation claims by former detainees at Guantanamo Bay.

The procedure to close courts is already used in limited circumstances - but the government says it should be available in a wider range of cases. In practice, special security-cleared lawyers would argue about the material in private.

Ministers say the bill would allow the courts to consider all material relating to a case even when national security prevents the information from being made public. Ministers also say they will modernise Parliament's oversight of the security and intelligence agencies.

Opponents of the legislation say that it has been motivated by embarrassment and a fear that US agencies will stop co-operating with the UK unless Parliament blocks the material from entering public courts.