LONDON - QUEEN Elizabeth II unveiled the British government's legislative programme for the next year on Wednesday, stressing its 'overriding priority' was to bolster the economy against looming recession.
The lavish ceremony surrounding the Queen's Speech - when she speaks from a gold throne in the House of Lords, wearing an ermine robe and a crown studded with nearly 3,000 diamonds - contrasted with her message of economic caution.
In a 10-minute address written by Prime Minister Gordon Brown's government, the queen said ministers would introduce a banking bill to boost protection for depositors after a year of turbulence in the sector in Britain.
This saw the near-collapse of Northern Rock, which was nationalised in February; last week's de facto nationalisation of the Royal Bank of Scotland; and the impending takeover of HBOS by Lloyds TSB.
'My government's overriding priority is to secure the stability of the British economy during the global economic downturn,' she told lawmakers and peers crammed into the House of Lords.
'My government is committed to helping families and businesses through difficult times. The strength of the financial sector is vital to the future vibrancy of the economy.
'Therefore legislation will continue to be taken forward to ensure fairer and more secure protection for bank depositors and to improve the resilience of the financial sector.'
This Queen's Speech comes against the gloomiest economic backdrop that Mr Brown's Labour Party has had to face since coming to power under Tony Blair in 1997.
Britain's official unemployment rate jumped to an 11-year high of 5.8 per cent in the three months to September. In October, Bank of England governor Mervyn King warned it was 'likely' Britain was entering recession.
The legislative programme has been slimmed down from draft proposals announced in May to just 13 new bills to allow the government to focus on urgent economic issues.
Mr Brown reportedly toned down planned measures that could have further damaged retailers already bruised by the credit crunch, for example through restrictions on sales of alcohol and tobacco.
His government is under heavy pressure to introduce measures that would force Britain's banks, particularly those in which the state now has a stake, to do more to help businesses weather the financial storm.
Some 35 lawmakers have signed a parliamentary motion calling on the government to use emergency legislation if necessary to ensure banks pass the latest 1.5 per cent interest rate cut - down to 3.0 per cent - on to customers.
Banks are likely to face big fines for failing to treat customers fairly, and ministers are set to make the current voluntary code of practice legally binding, British media has reported. But the queen did not directly refer to this in her speech.
The Queen's Speech marks the start of a new parliamentary session and is a tradition dating back to the 16th century.
Accompanied by husband Prince Philip, the 82-year-old monarch travelled from Buckingham Palace to the Houses of Parliament in a black and gold horse-drawn coach to the strains of the national anthem, accompanied by dozens of guards.
This year, the event threatened to be overshadowed by the arrest last week of Conservative immigration spokesman Damian Green in a police probe into political leaks.
After the monarch's address, Michael Martin, the speaker of the lower House of Commons, is to make a statement on the issue.
Many Conservative, or Tory, lawmakers believe Mr Martin should not have allowed the police to enter parliament and the incident has caused a furore in Britain.
As a parliamentary official came to the House of Commons to summon lawmakers to the House of Lords for the Queen's Speech, veteran Labour left-winger Dennis Skinner quipped, in reference to the Green row: 'Any Tory moles at the palace?' -- AFP
