MPs to investigate bail questions

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MPs are to consider whether there is a problem with the bail system following two high-profile murder cases, as part of a wider inquiry into policing.

Home Affairs Committee chairman Keith Vaz said he hoped to examine the impact of bail decisions on police resources.

Tory frontbencher Dominic Grieve said the entire justice system's ability to deal with crime was "sadly lacking".

It follows Adam Swellings' conviction for murdering Garry Newlove and the case of police inspector Garry Weddell.

Swellings, 19, had been bailed hours before he kicked Mr Newlove to death outside his home in Warrington, Cheshire.

'Feral' killer

Mr Weddell was bailed after being charged with murdering his wife - and appears to have killed his mother-in-law, before committing suicide.

Shadow attorney general Dominic Grieve said it would have been "very surprising" if Swellings had not got bail - as he had been charged with common assault, for which he would not have been jailed under current guidelines.

We have to have a system where bail is granted but it's the way in which that decision is made, that is the crucial issue Keith VazHome Affairs Committee chairman

"But the truth is, as we now know, is that Swellings was a feral young man who was out on the streets committing routine and regular offences and where the entire criminal justice had been unable to deal with him," he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

He said it was important not to blame bail "for the general failings we have in the criminal justice system".

"The apparatus of dealing with crime in this country and reducing it and, above all, giving people security on the streets, at the moment is sadly lacking."

MPs' inquiry

Prime Minister Gordon Brown has said it was necessary to question why Mr Weddell, 47, had been granted bail and said the government would change the law, if it was necessary.

Local Conservative MP Mike Penning had written to the attorney general asking for an inquiry.

Meanwhile, Helen Jones, the Labour MP for Warrington North, has asked for an inquiry into the Swellings case.

Mr Newlove confronted a gang outside his Warrington home

Mr Vaz told the BBC his committee would hold an inquiry into policing next month - during which they would look at the bail system.

But he said it was hard to tell how widespread the problem was, as there appeared to be no statistics held centrally on how many people broke the conditions of their bail.

He said it was important to look at the issue in a "joined up way" - to see how it affected other parts of the criminal justice system such as its effect on police time and resources.

'Spoke for millions'

"That means you just have to look at the system, you have to look at the reasons why bail is granted - we have to have a system where bail is granted but it's the way in which that decision is made, that is the crucial issue."

He said two very high-profile cases had come to prominence in the same week, adding: "The issue is, is this widespread?

"And the only way you can find out if that is the case is if we get the statistics which we hope to do as part of the inquiry... If indeed this is what's happening on a regular basis, then it is a cause for concern."

Meanwhile Tory leader David Cameron has told GMTV Mr Newlove's widow, Helen, "spoke for millions" when she said streets had been taken over by violent youths.

He said returning police to the streets and improving discipline in schools were important, and said every 16-year-old should be encouraged to do a "form of national service" - a voluntary scheme he outlined last year.

"Passing a new law is not enough. We need a big social, cultural and political change about our whole approach to these issues," he said.