LANCASHIRE'S police Chief Constable Paul Stephenson today revealed how he played a pivotal role in new plans to smash Britain's £40billion-a-year organised crime network.

The county's leading policeman was instrumental in drawing up the blueprint for Britain's new FBI-style crime-fighting agency.

Lancashire's most senior policeman, who is also chairman of the Association of Chief Police Officers' crime business group, was set the challenge last summer by Prime Minister Tony Blair on how the Serious and Organised Crime Agency could operate.

Mr Stephenson produced a detailed paper on implementing such an agency, and its recommendations largely form the Government's proposals for the elite police force which will be up-and-running by 2006.

Speaking exclusively to the Evening Telegraph Mr Stephenson said: "It is very exciting to influence some of these agendas and contribute to them and at the same time go there with a Lancashire feeling.

"It has got to be good news that the things that affect the people of Lancashire are being used to shape national policy in law enforcement.

"I am very pleased to have played a part in it along with other people. I feel the creation the agency is the right thing to do."

The Serious and Organised Crime Agency is being set up to target organised gangs and crime chiefs, who are now said to form a £40billion-a-year industry in Britain.

It will bring together the responsibilities of the National Criminal Intelligence Service, the National Crime Squad and parts of the Immigration Service and Customs and Excise.

About 5,000 investigators will form the service, specialising in drug trafficking, people smuggling and fraud cases.

A range of new powers will be given to the agency, including a national witness protection scheme to encourage people to inform on 'Mr Bigs'.

Surveillance material will also be allowed to be used in court for the first time and lawyers, bankers and accountants may be forced to disclose information about gangster clients.

The Government believes the powers are needed because, for example, in Merseyside about 80 per cent of criminal proceedings against suspected organised criminals collapse.

The creation of the force has been described as the biggest shake-up in policing for 40 years.

Meanwhile, Mr Stephenson is now focusing on proposals to tackle cross-border crime.

He said: "There is a huge gap there and I am doing research to see what should be done. I think we should look at strategic police forces, that is all forces having the capacity to deal with every type of crime, rather than having separate units like the major crime unit.

"For instance, in the Morecambe Bay disaster we are finding everything from anti-social behaviour to international people smuggling and we have to deal with it. People don't just become international criminals, they progress to that level."