Summit to decide key British values

Justice minister Michael Wills said the panel - chosen to be representative of the public at large - will be able to take evidence from witnesses during its deliberations.

Once a "statement of British values" has been devised, the summit will also look at how the statement should be used across the country, he said.

"There will be a representative body of 1,000 people or so that will meet, debate and take evidence from people," Mr Wills told a debate in Westminster organised by Morgan Stanley.

"Then they will decide for themselves on this question of what should the British statement of values be, and how it should be used.

"A representative of that summit will go to Parliament, and Parliament will have a final say on it."

He added: "We want something that is owned by the British people and not by the Government."

The statement - intended to encapsulate the rights and responsibilities of British citizens - could be included in passports and even printed on every benefits statement or tax demand, Mr Wills suggested.

Morgan Stanley's "Great Britons" debate, supported by the Daily Telegraph, seeks to name the most influential living Britons.

Historian and broadcaster Dr David Starkey, speaking in the debate, mocked the idea of a citizens' summit as an "extraordinary process", saying: "It is profoundly un-British to talk about Britishness."