Britain's top judge has said he is at odds with the government over the use of senior judges to run public inquiries.

Lord Woolf told the Commons public administration select committee on Tuesday that he had "overlooked" the issue when holding talks with lord chancellor Lord Falconer about the deployment of judges.

Discussions had reached agreement with a "concordat" making it clear that "the deployment of judges is a matter for the judiciary and not the executive".

But the Lord Chief Justice said that after realising the issue of public inquiries had been overlooked, he wrote to Lord Falconer setting out his position.

He told MPs that he was "firmly of the view" that the Lord Chief Justice should agree to any such appointments before they are made.

"I have, so far, failed to reach an agreement with the lord chancellor on this issue... I intend to maintain my position and will press for this safeguard to be in any future legislation," Lord Woolf added.

Requests

He added Britain's top judge should be able to refuse some requests, leaving the government to appoint a senior civil servant or a retired judge.

"What I'm asking for is a situation where if the lord chancellor cannot obtain my agreement, it doesn't happen," said the judge.

"I think it is unfortunate that we are locking horns in this public way. I am not doing it from any concern about this particular administration, I am thinking about the position in the future."

Following the comments, the Conservatives said ministers should not "pick and choose" judges for inquires.

"Lord Woolf is absolutely right to stress the importance of the independence of the judiciary," said shadow constitutional affairs secretary Oliver Heald.

"It should not be for the government of the day to pick and choose the judges they want for particular inquiries."

Supreme court

The spat came on the same day as the government revealed its preferred choice for the UK's new Supreme Court.

Britain's top judges are to be removed from the House of Lords to a new building as part of a push to modernise the judiciary.

Middlesex Guildhall, the historic building that faces the Houses of Parliament on the opposite side of Parliament Square, was announced as the likely home for top judges.

Lord falconer said he would "need to remain satisfied" that building would fully meet the operational requirements of a modern supreme court.

"This will require the normal planning approvals and my officials are consulting with English Heritage and Westminster City Council on the development of the designs," he said.

The cost of establishing the supreme court in Middlesex Guildhall is estimated at £30 million, including construction costs, professional fees and VAT.

Running costs for the new supreme court will be about £8.8 million a year compared with £3.2 million a year at present, said the lord chancellor.