Keir Starmer gathers Cabinet as he prepares to unveil critical King's Speech tomorrow - with crackdown on truancy, Channel boats, energy overhaul and law against drink spiking

Keir Starmer is gathering Cabinet today as he prepares to unveil a critical King's Speech.

The PM and his senior team are holding their regular meeting as the final touches are put to the legislative package - designed to show that Labour has hit the ground running with its 'change' agenda.

Strategists have warned Sir Keir has a narrow window to get the public on board with his plans, after securing on of the biggest landslides in history on just 34 per cent of the popular vote. 

A national truant register, treating Channel boats gangs as terrorists and a Net Zero push are all set to feature tomorrow as the monarch kick-starts the Parliamentary session with the usual pomp and ceremony.

The package of around 35 bills could include moves to scrap the remaining 92 hereditary peers - although the mandatory retirement age of 80 in the Lords could wait. 

Spiking drinks will be made a specific criminal offence, and police will be ordered to tackle lower-value shoplifting.

There is also likely to be action on the target of shifting to clean power by 2030, planning reforms to build 1.5million new homes in five years, and workers' rights reforms - with Tory curbs on union powers due to be repealed. 

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper wants to extend powers under the Terrorism Act to organised immigration crime.

She is now headhunting a former top spy – such as Sir Alexander Younger, the ex-MI6 chief – to fill the role of Border Security Commander. 

A total of 590 Channel migrants arrived between last Tuesday and Friday.

Ms Cooper is also planning to increase by 50 per cent the number of specialist officers from Britain's National Crime Agency (NCA) stationed within Europol, the EU's crime-fighting agency, as part of the new drive.

The government is keen to look tough on the issue, after a former border chief claimed yesterday that Kurdish people-smuggling gangs were calling Sir Keir the 'friendly one' after he scrapped Rishi Sunak's plan to send migrants to Rwanda.

Ministers want to impose a legal duty on councils to keep a register of so-called 'ghost children' - who barely attend school - and make parents formally declare when they are home-schooling.

AI will be deployed to help schools, GPs and councils work together more closely, according to the Sunday Times.

The Education Bill, which is being prioritised, will also include a legal requirement for breakfast clubs in every primary school.

And schools will be banned from requiring pupils to wear more than three branded items of uniform.

Downing Street has signalled that a law will be proposed to create a new Mission Control tasked with 'turbocharging' the UK to switch to clean power by 2030. 

The strengthening of the OBR, which was outlined in Labour's manifesto, is designed to ensure 'nobody can play fast and loose with the public finances ever again', Downing Street said.

The action of putting a drug into someone's drink or into their body without their consent is already a crime covered by other legislation.

But party sources last night confirmed that the Government want to create a new, specific offence so that police can respond better to incidents.

Figures show that spiking cases have soured in London in particular.

The Met Police alone received 1,383 allegations of spiking in 2023, with the majority of incidents occurring in public places such as bars or nightclubs.

Overall, police received 6,732 reports of spiking in the year ending April 2023, including 957 cases involving needles. The average age of victims was 26, with women accounting for 74 per cent of all cases.

The Home Affairs Committee, which the Home Secretary Yvette Cooper previously chaired, have previously recommended that spiking be recognised as a standalone crime punishable by up to 10 years in jail.

A report produced last year, when the committee was being charged by new policing minister Dame Diana Johnson, read: 'Several offences may be used to prosecute spiking but there is no specific offence. 

'This, together with limited reporting, investigation and prosecution, means there are few deterrents for offenders. 

'As part of our recommended national anti-spiking communication campaign, the Home Office should send a clear message to offenders that there is no acceptable defence for spiking, that it can have devastating consequences for victims and that it is punishable by up to 10 years in prison.'

The Conservative government took strong measures against spiking last year, including training door staff to spot perpetrators and help victims, and investing in spiking testing kits for venues.

Ex-Home Secretary James Cleverly said: 'Spiking is a perverse crime which can have a lasting impact on victims. Our comprehensive new measures are designed to help police and staff in bars, restaurants, pubs and other premises to protect victims and bring more offenders to justice.'

The Tory general election manifesto also pledged to create a new offence for spiking as part of a strategy to tackle violence against women and girls.