The government will create room for 10,000 new prisoners and expand stop and search powers, Prime Minister Boris Johnson has promised.

Writing in the Mail on Sunday, Mr Johnson said after a “spate of violent crime… the time for action had come”.

He also said tougher sentencing laws were needed.

Labour’s shadow’s policing minister, Louise Haigh, said the entire criminal justice system was broken “due to Tory austerity”.

The government’s focus on law and order will add to speculation that No 10 is preparing for an autumn general election, said BBC political correspondent Jonathan Blake.

It follows other recent announcements from Downing Street about the NHS and immigration.

Last month, the government also pledged to recruit 20,000 extra police officers, nearly replacing the number of officers lost since the Conservatives came to power.