This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/uk_politics/6308641.stm
The article has changed 8 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 3 | Version 4 |
|---|---|
| Defiant Reid says 'I won't quit' | Defiant Reid says 'I won't quit' |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Home Secretary John Reid has said he is "not going to quit"- but expects to find more problems at the Home Office. | Home Secretary John Reid has said he is "not going to quit"- but expects to find more problems at the Home Office. |
| Reforming the department would take two and a half years, he told the BBC, adding that he had the "endurance" and "determination" to "see it through". | Reforming the department would take two and a half years, he told the BBC, adding that he had the "endurance" and "determination" to "see it through". |
| He said the public were not interested in ministers being changed - they wanted the Home Office to be changed. | He said the public were not interested in ministers being changed - they wanted the Home Office to be changed. |
| "The fact is I'm in there changing things and I will continue to change them," Mr Reid told Radio 4's Today. | "The fact is I'm in there changing things and I will continue to change them," Mr Reid told Radio 4's Today. |
| "There's one thing that's certain, I'm not going to quit," he added. | "There's one thing that's certain, I'm not going to quit," he added. |
| I was sent to the Home Office to do a job... but it isn't mission impossible Home Secretary John Reid | I was sent to the Home Office to do a job... but it isn't mission impossible Home Secretary John Reid |
| Mr Reid's comments about the job taking two and a half years suggests he expects to remain in his post as home secretary, rather than challenge Gordon Brown to succeed Tony Blair when he steps down this year. | Mr Reid's comments about the job taking two and a half years suggests he expects to remain in his post as home secretary, rather than challenge Gordon Brown to succeed Tony Blair when he steps down this year. |
| Asked about that, he said he was working "very closely" with Mr Brown and "as late as last night I was discussing these matters with Gordon". | Asked about that, he said he was working "very closely" with Mr Brown and "as late as last night I was discussing these matters with Gordon". |
| Asked directly if that meant he was not going to contest the leadership, he said: "I am going to be home secretary." | Asked directly if that meant he was not going to contest the leadership, he said: "I am going to be home secretary." |
| More places | More places |
| Last week, Mr Reid was at the centre of a row over sentencing after reminding judges about "existing guidelines" on sentencing, as it emerged that the UK's prisons were, in Tony Blair's words, "full to bursting point". | Last week, Mr Reid was at the centre of a row over sentencing after reminding judges about "existing guidelines" on sentencing, as it emerged that the UK's prisons were, in Tony Blair's words, "full to bursting point". |
| It prompted two Crown Court judges to decide against jailing sex offenders, blaming prison overcrowding. | It prompted two Crown Court judges to decide against jailing sex offenders, blaming prison overcrowding. |
| LATEST HOME OFFICE PRESSURES 27 January...The News of the World claims 322 convicted sex offenders are missing across the UK26 January....Home Secretary John Reid denies telling judges to give softer sentences to ease prison overcrowding26 January....England and Wales Youth Justice Board head Rod Morgan quits over youth prisons' overcrowding25 January....Risk of being a victim of crime in England and Wales rises for the first time since 1995, figures suggest21 January....Proposals reveal the Home Office may be split in two to cover justice and security14 January Senior civil servant suspended over failure to update police records of Britons convicted abroad | LATEST HOME OFFICE PRESSURES 27 January...The News of the World claims 322 convicted sex offenders are missing across the UK26 January....Home Secretary John Reid denies telling judges to give softer sentences to ease prison overcrowding26 January....England and Wales Youth Justice Board head Rod Morgan quits over youth prisons' overcrowding25 January....Risk of being a victim of crime in England and Wales rises for the first time since 1995, figures suggest21 January....Proposals reveal the Home Office may be split in two to cover justice and security14 January Senior civil servant suspended over failure to update police records of Britons convicted abroad |
| Mr Reid said that, under Labour, more serious criminals were being jailed for longer, or given indeterminate sentences. | Mr Reid said that, under Labour, more serious criminals were being jailed for longer, or given indeterminate sentences. |
| He said 20,000 new prison places had been created since Labour came to power and said he had commissioned another 8,000 since taking up his job last May. | He said 20,000 new prison places had been created since Labour came to power and said he had commissioned another 8,000 since taking up his job last May. |
| But sentencing guidelines had assumed a 15% reduction in trivial offenders being sent to prison as people did not want "to have to pay £40,000 a year to keep them in bed and breakfast", he said. | But sentencing guidelines had assumed a 15% reduction in trivial offenders being sent to prison as people did not want "to have to pay £40,000 a year to keep them in bed and breakfast", he said. |
| This had not happened, so he had made a statement to the National Criminal Justice Board, to remind them of guidelines - something which had been backed by the Lord Chief Justice. | This had not happened, so he had made a statement to the National Criminal Justice Board, to remind them of guidelines - something which had been backed by the Lord Chief Justice. |
| "We do not have a Soviet-style judiciary so forecasting how independent judges will make decisions is not an exact science so we have to keep reviewing it as we go along," he added | "We do not have a Soviet-style judiciary so forecasting how independent judges will make decisions is not an exact science so we have to keep reviewing it as we go along," he added |
| HAVE YOUR SAY Never mind the Home Office, the whole government is a shambolic mess Malcolm, Bury St Edmunds Send us your comments | HAVE YOUR SAY Never mind the Home Office, the whole government is a shambolic mess Malcolm, Bury St Edmunds Send us your comments |
| He said when he started reforming the Home Office - from probation, policing and prisons to sex offenders - other problems had come up. | He said when he started reforming the Home Office - from probation, policing and prisons to sex offenders - other problems had come up. |
| "Partly they are genuine problems I have to say and partly they are media commentators who don't have to change anything, they just have to constantly comment on it," he said. | "Partly they are genuine problems I have to say and partly they are media commentators who don't have to change anything, they just have to constantly comment on it," he said. |
| Meanwhile there is a dispute with prison officers over the plan to transfer staff to a new temporary jail due to open in Merseyside. | Meanwhile there is a dispute with prison officers over the plan to transfer staff to a new temporary jail due to open in Merseyside. |
| Brian Caton, general secretary of the Prison Officers Association (POA), told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that an extra 1,000 prison officers were needed. | Brian Caton, general secretary of the Prison Officers Association (POA), told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that an extra 1,000 prison officers were needed. |
| John Reid likens himself to a decorator - can he do the job alone? BBC political editor Nick Robinson class="" href="http://blogs.bbc.co.uk/nickrobinson/2007/01/twas_on_a_monda_1.html">Read Nick's thoughts in full Mr Caton said that Mr Reid and his predecessor knew about plans to open a new, temporary prison at least 12-18 months ago and had done nothing to ensure it was fully staffed. | |
| "They have done nothing to recruit staff to staff it, and now what they intend to do is pull staff away from existing prisons which are short of staff anyway....that is just unacceptable to the POA." | "They have done nothing to recruit staff to staff it, and now what they intend to do is pull staff away from existing prisons which are short of staff anyway....that is just unacceptable to the POA." |