Tearing up the Magna Carta?

BBC Radio 4's Law in Action was broadcast on Tuesday, 21 March, 2006 at 1600 GMT.

The government's Legislative and Regulatory Reform Bill is meant to streamline the process of removing red tape. But critics fear it will allow ministers to change any legislation without the traditional full process of parliamentary scrutiny.

Commentator Daniel Finkelstein tells us why he thinks it is a nightmarish prospect that keeps him awake at night. And Cambridge Law Professor John Spencer QC says the bill would significantly weaken the power of parliament and allow the creation of an "elective dictatorship."