Thursday, 11 January 2007


Another Home Office cockup scandal in full swing, and another unedifying round of pass-the-blame-parcel from which no-one emerges with very much credit.

Dinna blame me, says Rambo, I was outside having a fag when it happened. How was I to know that those 27,000 files lying around outside my office were important? It's the fault of the police, the civil service, the Safety Elephant, junior ministers, and possibly the cleaners as well, but not me, and I'll fucking twat anyone who says otherwise.

But the police aren't taking this lying down; au contraire, they say, ACPO told the Home Office about this back in September, and asked for extra money to clear the backlog in 3 months rather than 12. The funding was refused, but in a sense that's not really the point; resources are finite and not every request for extra cash can be greenlighted. But for the Home Office to now claim ignorance is not really going to wash.

The prime minister's official spokesman said there was no evidence ministers knew of a backlog of cases or the scale of the backlog.

If this is true, it's indicative of remarkable, and continuing, incompetence at the Home Office. ACPO wrote to them a couple of weeks after the request for funding was refused and drew attention to the ongoing problems, though not the backlog or the funding issue. They've also said that they had two subsequent meetings with "Home Office officials" in October and December.

Unless we're to believe that the problem of convicted murderers and rapists was not deemed important enough to bother ministers with - that 27,000 unlogged criminal records were not brought to the attention of the minister in charge of, er, criminal records - someone is lying. But who?

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// posted by Mr Eugenides on 11.1.07
Comments:
No credit but certainly no blame either.

# posted by Anonymous Anonymous : 11 January 2007 14:47
 
It's the lawyerly choice of words that strikes:

The prime minister's official spokesman said there was no evidence ministers knew of a backlog of cases or the scale of the backlog.

Not 'ministers didn't know' but 'there was no evidence ministers knew'. Two completely different things.

# posted by Anonymous Justin : 11 January 2007 16:47
 
Incidentally, where did you find that quote? I can't find it anywhere and wouldn't mind linking to it myself.

# posted by Anonymous Justin : 11 January 2007 16:57
 
"...someone is lying. But who?"

Hmm, HO Ministers & civil servants vs ACPO...

Could the answer be 'both'?

# posted by Anonymous JuliaM : 11 January 2007 17:23
 
There is the way I covered this, Mr. E and then there was the way you covered it. Touch of class.

# posted by Blogger james higham : 11 January 2007 17:24
 
I hear the London Zoo staff conducted a 'head count' of all their stock yesterday, from aardvarks to zebras.

Perhaps when they've finished, they'd like to put in a contract to do the same for our Prison Service.

I realise it'll mean dealing with a bunch of animals yet again, but hey, they are qualified...

# posted by Anonymous JuliaM : 12 January 2007 09:48
 
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