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The proposals also include longer sentences for 15-17 year olds who commit murder.
Teenagers convicted of murder in England and Wales could face life sentences under sentencing reforms described by the government as the most radical in nearly 20 years.
Currently, a lifetime fee can only be awarded to someone over the age of 21, but ministers plan to lower it to 18 for rare cases, such as terrorism.
A White Paper with more details will be published this week.
But Labor said the Conservatives had pushed the justice system “to the brink.”
The proposals will also include life sentences for those who kill children.
And there would be new powers to prevent the automatic release of criminals who have radicalized behind bars while serving non-terrorism related sentences.
A life order – or the so-called “life means life” – means that the criminal is in prison for the rest of his life without becoming eligible for parole. It differs from life imprisonment, whereby the prisoner receives a number of years to spend in jail, after which they will be eligible to apply for parole.
Lifetime rates are reserved for offenders who are considered the most dangerous to society.
The planned reforms come after Hashem Abedi, who helped his brother Salman plan the Manchester Arena bombing, was jailed in August for life and ordered to serve at least 55 years in prison.
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He was under the age of 21 at the time of the murders, so a life warrant was not an option open to the courts.
In sentencing Abedi, Judge Jeremy Baker said that a life order would have been a “fair sentence” in the “exceptional circumstances” but said “he may never be released.”
In a Sunday Express article, Boris Johnson cited the Abedi case and said that if someone conspires to deliberately kill dozens of people “then it doesn’t matter if you’re ‘only’ 18, 19 or 20 when you do it.”
“We are removing a loophole that allows some truly despicable criminals to avoid that conviction because they are under 21 at the time of the crime,” Johnson added.
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Under the proposals, there will also be longer sentences for youths aged 15-17 who commit murder.
Attorney General Robert Buckland said: “From more jail time for dangerous offenders to new measures to improve rehabilitation and reduce recidivism, we are delivering a system that is more equipped than ever to combat crime, in which the public can trust to keep them safe. “
But shadow justice secretary David Lammy accused the government of flaws, citing a report from the Prison Reform Trust that there was a 64% recidivism rate for those who spend less than 12 months in prison.
And Northern Ireland’s shadow secretary Louise Haigh said increasing sentences for younger terrorist offenders was “pretty low on the list” of problems facing the criminal justice system.
Speaking at Sky’s Ridge on Sunday, he added: “The criminal justice system is in complete disarray due to years of cuts, privatization of the probation system and undermining the courts and police.”
A White Paper is expected to be published mid-week before the legislation is presented to parliament in the new year.
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