Lord Irvine, the lord chancellor, has suggested that the Commission for Racial Equality and other bodies which implement Britain's anti-discrimination laws could be replaced by a single Human Rights Commission.

He told MPs and peers on a Commons joint select committee on human rights that the current number of commissions might be "too much of a good thing".

The lord chancellor also said he would continue sitting as a judge despite suggestions that his judicial role may be in contravention of the Human Rights Act.