What is - and has been - going on at the Home Office? Following Home Secretary Charles Clarke's rather indecorous departure from the Cabinet in the wake of what has been aptly described as the ‘foreign prisoner fiasco', his successor John Reid subsequently informs the House of Commons' Home Affairs Committee that our Immigration and Nationality Directorate is "not fit for purpose".

Apparently, asylum has been granted to felons and suspected terrorists. There has also been an explosion of unlawful working (some of it carried out by Nigerian illegals who managed to access cleaning jobs in the Immigration Department!). Let's not forget the early release of dangerous criminals who have duly proceeded to rape, terrorise and steal from innocent members of our society.

To the impartial observer, these errors - and more besides - smack of nothing other than serial incompetence.

Rubbing further salt into the already gaping Westminster wounds, a paper written by Tim Brain (chief constable of the Gloucestershire Constabulary, and current chairman of ACPO's Finance and Resources Committee) suggests that Labour's stated plans for police force mergers in England and Wales could cost anything up to £600 million of tax payers' money and "destroy" efforts to extend neighbourhood policing. In the worse case scenario, it's estimated that the equivalent of 25,000 police officers' salaries would have to be shed - post-amalgamations - to make ends meet.

In desperation, Dr Reid has tried to atone for the heinous mistakes made by shuffling his ministerial pack. Twice. Having taken over as policing and security minister in the initial reshuffle on 5 May, ambitious young Blairite Liam Byrne served only 14 days in his new role before making way for Tony McNulty, the former immigration minister. Why? Apparently, McNulty's skills are better suited to the crime reduction brief, but the $64,000 question remains... If he wasn't deemed good enough to run the Immigration Department, will McNulty be able to cope with the policing and security portfolio? Blunders here could cost lives.

The fundamental problem with this ministerial game of musical chairs is that our industry is always the one to suffer the backlash. Bridges carefully constructed between the security sector and Parliament are continually wrecked.

Can John Reid prevent total meltdown? The Jury is out.

Source

SMT