|PIC1|Gordon Brown is preparing to grant the Church "operational independence", giving up the prime minister's historic right to choose the Archbishop of Canterbury and other Church of England bishops.

It is just one of many "royal prerogative" powers, held by the prime minister, which Mr Brown is planning to do away with once he takes over at Number 10 later this month.

In addition, he will give up his prerogative power to declare war without the consent of parliament, which means military action, such as the invasion of Iraq, will in future have to be approved in advance by MPs.

Mr Brown is determined that the Church of England will make up its own mind on who should succeed Rowan Williams as Archbishop of Canterbury and spiritual head of 70 million Anglicans worldwide.

It has been revealed that Mr Brown wants his government to be seen as representing "all faiths and all cultures," and not tied significantly to the Church of England. His proposals raise the possibility that he might take steps to remove the right of bishops to take their seats in the House of Lords.

Chris Bryant, the Labour MP and a former vicar, said: "I think it would be far better if the Church was independent of the power of the prime minister."

Church insiders have confirmed they are aware of Mr Brown's proposals. A source added: "We would need to look carefully at any proposal which is put forward to establish whether any legislative or other changes were needed."

Currently, the Prime Minister approves or rejects names put forward to replace bishops and archbishops by the Crown Nominations Commission.

A spokesman for Mr Brown said: "We're not going to comment on every piece of speculation."