Reid pledge on Home Office future

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Home Secretary John Reid has said the national interest is more important than any politicians' ego in deciding whether to split the Home Office.

He has suggested his troubled department be divided into separate justice and security ministries.

Downing Street says it is a serious plan, while government sources say it could be completed within months.

But Jonathan Baume of civil servants' union the First Division Association, warned against rushed changes.

He said staff morale had been affected by the recent headlines and people were being pushed and pulled from one priority to the next.

'Difficult job'

"The government really needs to just stand back and ask itself whether it's diverting sufficient resources in the round to the Home Office, to enable it to do the difficult job it's been asked to do," he said.

Splitting up the Home Office, which employs 24,000 people has not yet been approved by the Cabinet, but former home secretary Jack Straw and Constitutional Affairs Secretary Charles Falconer, who would take on some of Mr Reid's responsibilities, have indicated they back the move.

It requires a new team of ministers, rather than a new organisation David DavisShadow home secretary

Under Mr Reid's recommendations, the security department would be responsible for anti-terrorism policy, immigration and the security services. The Ministry of Justice would have control of probation, prisons and stopping re-offending.

The Conservatives have called it an "admission of failure" by Mr Reid, who pledged to "sort out" the department when he took over in May, famously calling its immigration operation "not fit for purpose".

'Not fit for purpose'

His predecessor Charles Clarke was sacked, over a row about foreign criminals not being considered for deportation.

The national interest comes much higher than the interest of individual politicians, or the egos of individual politicians John Reid

But Mr Reid has had to deal with another revelation - that 27,000 files on British criminals who committed crimes abroad had not been entered onto the police national computer.

Shadow foreign secretary David Davis said the Home Office was overwhelmed because of "over-legislation and serial errors of judgement".

He said: "Breaking it up would compound existing problems and could create a whole set of new ones.

"It requires a new team of ministers, rather than a new organisation."

On Sunday former home secretary David Blunkett said if the Home Office was split, the prime minister and chancellor would be the only two powerful figures in cabinet, which would not be good for balanced government.

But Mr Reid said on Monday: "We have to look at all of the options that are available to us with a view to protecting the nation, protecting the public, ensuring national security and putting the public interests first in everything we do.

"The national interest comes much higher than the interest of individual politicians, or the egos of individual politicians, or the empires of individual politicians."

Paul Cavadino, head of the crime reduction charity NACRO, told the BBC: "There's a good case for thinking that a Ministry of Justice would be better able to concentrate on policies to reduce crime and run an effective penal system, without ministers constantly being diverted by crises in issues like immigration and security."