Five serious reconvictions so far

Five reconvictions relating to "drugs, violent disorder and inflicting bodily harm" and all avoidable.

10.45pm update: An ICM poll for Newsnight  suggests that the public think Charles Clarke should resign by 64% to 25%.  By 37% to 57% they do not support John Prescott resigning.

Comments

[Editor]

This statement has just been released by David Davis:

"We are already seeing convictions for drug offences, grievous bodily harm and other acts of violence. In addition there is a possible rape and a number of other offences.

“The fact that Mr Clarke has had to initiate deportation action in 63 out of 72 cases demonstrates the magnitude of his failure to protect public.

“None of his actions were initiated until this week – ten months after the fourth warning was given to the Government.

“When he was forced to make his statement on Wednesday, Mr Clarke said he would return to the House with all the information. He has only told us about the status of the most serious original offenders.

“When he completes the task of assessing the remaining 960 cases it is virtually certain there will be many, many more crimes committed that would not have happened if he and his predecessors had done their job.

“His position is untenable. He should take responsibility for what has been a massive failure”

[Jonathan Sheppard]

How can he survive this? Not only weren't they deported, but some re-offended. How can Mr Clarke remain?

[Richard]

"How can Mr Clarke remain?"

Yesterday on Question Time, "Lord" Falconer said that had the convicts re-offended Charles Clarke still shouldn't resign.

So to answer your question, becase the government backs him!

[Wat Tyler]

He's talking like he's going to bullet a load of civil servants instead. Clearly they can't include Sir John Gieve- the PErm Sec who presided for most of the last 5 years- since having messed up the HO accounts, he's already been moved- to take charge of financial stability at the BoE.

You couldn't make this stuff up.

[northwest]

Maybe Blair's too weak to sack him. Lots of people think he's the man who'll tell Blair when it's time to go.

Still, the longer he stays, the better for us. There's plenty more yet to come out on this story I reckon.

[Henry Whitmarsh]

Oh Tony, this'll teach you to give unequivocal support for a minister so early on in a crisis....

[Henry Whitmarsh]

Oh, and "burying" a story on saturday is the oldest trick in the book.

[Editor]

Exactly Henry. A Friday of a bank holiday weekend at that.

[Matthew Sinclair]

What a nasty, ugly, failure. Even if the government backs him surely he's lost all credibility and will need to resign or be completely unable to run his department.

[HomeOfficeTruFax]

Nothing to see here, citizen.

[Esbonio]

I do not often agree with Henry Whitmarsh's postings, but on this I agree entirely.

[Richard Allen]

If Clarke thinks that he can hang on he is in denial. This story will run and run. The tabloids will find the victims of these avoidable crimes and let them tell the world about how they have suffered. Clarke is finished and Blair is a fool not to fire him.

[Henry Whitmarsh]

Don't worry, according to Radio 4 "A strenuous effort is being made to apprehend five..." Then a statement by Clarke. THEN they have Davis, gently pointing out that Clarke was warned four times about the lack of monitoring. How about "Calls are mounting for the Home Secretary to resign..." It's OK Mr Clarke, Auntie has your back.

[Goldie]

What's really depressing is not the incompetence of this government. It's that a bunch of idiots --from the LibDems through BNP-- are going to profit it from it.

The Conservative Party is really close to becoming irrelevant. It may not survive...

[James Maskell]

Hes gotta go. The risk to the public is too great. Sundays gonna be fun!

[greg]

Sunday is Prescott day.

[James Maskell]

Prescotts so large, EVERY day is Prescott day...you just cant fit him into one day. Ask the ladies in his life...

[Chad]

For me, Clarke is the man who convinced me I should get involved to get this Labour government out of power.

Is this the man who only a month ago said that he "serious questions about Jack Dromey's capacity" while Clarke was in fact busy letting violent prisoners, who should have been deported, loose into our communities?

Well we can tell you Charles, you are a nasty, incompetent bully and a discredited clown.

It is time for you go Charles and take Prescott with you.

[matt wright]

Clarke should go. Even he knows that. The only reason he is still there is Blair wants to avoid the news of a major cabinet member leaving a week before polling day in local elections in England. Also we should stress that how on earth can we take ID cards seriously when the Home Office cannot organise a party in a brewery,

Matt

[William Norton]

THE STRANGE AFFAIR OF THE BODY NOT IN THE LIBRARY

"Let me recap the facts, M. Poirot. The Home Secretary is presiding over a massive intrusion into civil liberties on the basis that the Home Office needs to accumulate an ID database to apprehend villains and terrorists. At the same time, the Home Office is releasing and not deporting a thousand criminals, including rapists and murderers, some of whom have since re-offended. This was happening after the Home Secretary was notified of it. The Prime Minister has been told. At 6pm last night the Home Secretary was directed towards the library where he was left alone with a bottle of whisky and a loaded revolver. Yet this morning, when the maid arrived to open the curtains - the Home Secretary was still alive. We can't understand this mystery at all. Who on earth could have a possible motive for saving the Home Secretary's life?"

"Sacre bleu, mon cher Inspecteur Yapp! C'est incroyable! Not even zee leetle grey cells can fathom zis one owt."

TO BE CONTINUED (I EXPECT, DON'T YOU?)

[kingbongo]

For me, Clarke is the man who convinced me I should get involved to get this Labour government out of power.

nice to see you back on board Chad, but only the other day you were advising us not to vote tory at the local elections!

I can't see any of this lot resigning, as none of them have a shred of personal honour or integrity.

Blair's already prepared for an awful set of local election reults so he'll reshuffle Clarke out of the way 'without a stain on his character'; Prescott will be shrugged off however boorish and morally bankrupt his behaviour, 'it's a personal matter and hey c'mon guys John is just well yer know John' and Hewitt is enacting stated government policy, so however much I personally want to throttle her for being so intensely annoying I can't see why she would jack it in.

[James Maskell]

On the issue of health, I spoke to someone working at our local hospital (QEQM Hospital in Margate) earlier today. Hes so annoyed at her for claiming it was the NHSs best ever year. In fact, the hoispital is facing cuts on everything from staff cuts themselves to cuts in tea for volunteers saving a 4,000 pounds.

Copuld I request that Cameron tell his underlings to go crazy on these mofos...this softly softly approach isnt working. Let forth the dogs of war. The public are worth that much.

[Patsy Sergeant]

If mr. Clarke is not asked to resign, it just indicates how arrogant this government is, it exests for itself alone, and when the public complain as they are doing now they are considered as pestiferous mosquitoes or something similar, to be swatted out of the way in any way possible!!!, at least Clarke gives that impression in no uncertain terms!!

[Chad]

nice to see you back on board Chad, but only the other day you were advising us not to vote tory at the local elections!

Hi KB, no that was Suggestion getting the wrong end of the stick. I was talking about the next general election but couldn't be bothered to correct him.

The state funding plans haven't even been introduced yet, so there is no point of protest at all! that is why I am trying to, in the first instance, get the Tory Party to oppose the plans. Only if they are introduced will there be a need for a protest vote.

However, so us small c conservatives can have a rational discussion without Tory Party members keep confusing conservatism with the Conservative Party, I have been setting up ConservativeVoice.org.uk (named servers not propagated yet - see here) to enable small c conservatives

[Chad]

..to debate conservative issues and the growing independent conservative movement outside the Conservative Party.

[James Maskell]

Stupid blogging system, acciddently finished early, thus the terrible language based errors. Sorry...

A ward is being closed down, due to the lack of staff there. I understand its short term patients that will be most affected as that ward is being shut even though it was expanded not too long ago. I have a brother and a sister-in-law who work at that hospital as nurses in the trauma ward. I will be furious if they have to be dropped. The hospital is within the ward I hope to stand in next year.

[kingbongo]

Chad - ahhh, now I understand. I've come round to agreeing on state funding being a terrible idea and as a Chameleoroon I will try to help ensure the party doesn't go down this route.

James M - The public certainly are worth that much. Most of us enjoyed DC beating up Gordon Brown at the budget; I think beating up Clarke and co would be something we expect the opposition to do when the government has endangered people's lives because of its total incompetence.

This needn't detract from a long term strategy, but our shadow cabinet team needs to be able to respond effectively to events and, having done the measured initial response it is now time to push the advantage home with more forceful attacks. We must get the message out to the general public that this government is systemically incompetent and useless and we can do a better job.

[Richard Weatherill]

The events of this week bring to mind William Hague's prescient remark at the 1997 Party Conference:

"New Labour have certainly changed politics for the time being. Their politics without conscience brought fascination to begin with. Then admiration. But next it will bring disillusion. Finally it will bring contempt'."

I think we're well into the "contempt" phase now ...

[Editor]

Well remembered RW. It was a great speech. WH was right... but it just took longer than he had hoped.

[Patsy Sergeant]

I should have put my post at 22.43, about Clarke being interviewed on the news, on this thread!

[Phil Taylor]

As an ex-IT person thinking about the whole prisoner release story which is essentially one of incompatible, out of date IT systems which prevented easy exchange of information between IND and the Prison Service you suddenly get to understand the whole ID card drive. Please note I am not excusing them. They could have done the information exchange the hard way with bits of paper if they had wanted to!

The Home Office probably see the ID card and its database as a way of grabbing a huge technology budget, at a time when health and education are being prioritised, and using it to modernise all of their systems top to bottom. By having one huge person database with some kind of key that allows you manage data about the whole population you then have a tool from which you can hang all your other systems that manage people, be they prisoners, asylum seekers, probationers, suspects, criminals, etc. That really is the way large organisations think. It is certainly the way that consultants that advise large organisations think! All the consultants will be spending this weekend making up PowerPoint slides attributing the release story to poor technology.

You can guarantee that when the whole thing calms down people will be using the release fiasco as a justification for ID cards.

[Yet Another Anon]

There is a perception of John Prescott as being a man of action based on outrage and emotion and the affair he has been found out to be in just emphasises this - if anything boosting his popularity.

John Prescott is on his way out anyway, he's only staying as Deputy Leader of Labour until the Leadership Election is out of the way and then at the next General Election he will probably be leaving parliament.

I think Big Ears can be ruled out from having any chance in the next election for the Deputy Leadership of the Labour Party and given that actually David Blunkett was Home Secretary for the largest portion of the time of the release scandal and Jack Straw was Home Secretary at the start of it I'm sure this will work against them too.

[Al Wood]

I think that the New Labour party is in melt down! They are in such a mess that the Tories should mount a campaign for an early election. A vote of no confidence in the government pushed by the Tories would be a good start. With all the latest revelations re Clarke's failures and the Deputy PM's problems coupled with Blunkett, Eccleston and Mandelson, it's about time Blair got the message!
So come on boy wonder Dave get moving ASAP!
Al.wood