Justice secretary Jack Straw has defended plans to hold secret inquests, citing the need to protect those who provide intelligence for national security. Major change to the coroners system, which Straw described as the least-reformed part of the justice mechanism, is the headline proposal of the Coroners and Justice Bill, introduced to Parliament last week.

The 220-page bill also includes proposals to amend wide areas of criminal and civil law, covering issues such as infanticide, exhumation, data protection and sentencing.

Key reforms include creating the new post of chief coroner for England and Wales, to be appointed by the Lord Chief Justice from the ranks of high court judges. The bill also provides for non-jury inquests where deemed necessary on national security grounds.

Straw said that secret inquests would be ‘few and far between’ and subject to judicial review.

The bill also creates new rights for bereaved relatives at inquests. A ‘charter for the bereaved’ will ensure families are kept fully informed; they will also have the right to appeal against coroners’ decisions. However, the bill drops earlier proposals to give coroners wide powers to impose reporting restrictions at the request of bereaved families.

Among other measures, the bill will reform the law of murder and assisted suicide, and the Financial Services Authority will have new powers to grant immunity when ­investigating criminal cases such as insider dealing. Driving disqualifications of people ­sentenced to prison will start from the end of their custodial sentence rather than the beginning, reforming a practice which ‘defies common sense’, Straw said.

The bill begins its second reading on Monday.