PA Consulting - Memory sticks and ID Cards.

It turns out that PA Consulting, the company to blame (according to Jacqui Smith) for the loss of the memory stick containing details of the 84,000 prisoners held in our prisons, are at the heart of the National ID Card scheme. Makes you feel warm all over doesn't it? The company has been paid £100m for their work on ID Cards and they have received over £240m in government contracts in recent years. According to the Telegraph we (that's those of us who pay tax) are paying their consultants £160 per hour to work on the scheme - not bad money if you can get it.

Dominic Grieve, the shadow home secretary, said:

"The public will be alarmed that the Government is happy to entrust their £20bn ID card project to the firm involved in this fiasco, at a cost of millions of pounds to the UK taxpayer. "This will destroy any grain of confidence the public still have in this white elephant and reinforce why it could endanger - rather than strengthen - our security.

"Jacqui Smith cannot continue to abdicate responsibility for this shambles. She must at a bare minimum explain how this failure could happen, when she first knew about it, and what she now intends to do about it. Why did she sit on this information until it was dragged out by the media? When was she intending to tell the public?"

I think it pretty obvious why Jacqui Smith sat on the news of this data loss:

1. This is just another blunder in a long list of data security blunders that she and the government have been responsible for.

2. Would you (as Home Secretary) want the public to know that a company deeply involved in the ID Card scheme has broken security guidelines by downloading sensitive data, only to lose it?

I think we in the general public tend to think it's possible that the ID Card scheme will be scrapped, but it won't, the government are hell bent on pushing this crackpot scheme through. The only way to stop more of our money being wasted on this folly is to get Labour out of power as soon as possible.

Alyson Reeves, PA Consulting's identity management specialist wrote in the Financial Times (18 June 2008):

"The UK National Identity Scheme should not be overlooked. It is coming, and as the UK's 'universal' identity assurance solution, it will become ubiquitous in the next five to 10 years. Don't get left playing catch-up."

The sad thing is that even after losing the prisoner data, PA Consulting will probably keep their ID Card contracts.

Next Prime Minister to be a Woman in Labour?

No, not a pregnant woman - one of those lovely ladies* from the cabinet. The current odds from William Hill still have David Miliband as the hot favourite to succeed Gordon Brown as permanent Labour Party leader when he gets the boot (probably before or shortly after their conference). However, there are three women in the in the top ten most likely to be PM. Harriet Harman is third favourite on 7/1, Jacqui Smith is 16/1 and Yvette Cooper is 20/1. Scary?

What do you think? I know we have already had one woman Prime Minister so it's nothing new, but are you happy about the possibility of one of the Labour Coven running the country?

*Go easy, I'm being polite.

Exclusive: Jacqui Smith now 20/1 to replace Gordon Brown.

After reading Nick Robinson's Blog this afternoon, I contacted William Hill to see if they had picked up on Jacqui Smith's performance last night. Their Media Relations Director Graham Sharpe kindly got back to me at 15:28 with this:

William Hill have cut the odds of Jacqui Smith replacing Gordon Brown from 33/1 to 20/1.

From William Hill:

YOU BET SMITH COULD SUCCEED BROWN

Jacqui Smith has emerged as a potential contender to succeed Gordon Brown as Labour Leader and William Hill have cut her odds from 33/1 to 20/1 after she apparently impressed Labour MPs with her arguments over the 42 day issue. 'Ms Smith has apparently enhanced her reputation in recent days and we have cut her odds accordingly, but she still has some way to go to become the first female Labour leader' says Hill's spokesman Graham Sharpe.

Hills make David Miliband 5/2 favourite and also offer 7/1 Johnson; Straw; 8/1 Balls; 9/1 Denham; Purnell; 14/1 Burnham; Cruddas; 16/1 Benn.

Today Nick Robinson reported on his Blog that Smith's star could be rising in the Labour leadership race:

Shares in Smith soared last night. As Labour MP's and peers poured out of the Parliamentary Labour Party meeting all were agreed that Jacqui the home secretary had put in the performance of her life. Some went further and claimed that this was the best ministerial performance in the past year or two.

Even those Labour MPs, who still refuse to vote for 42 days - and there are still quite a few - know that the home secretary was not the one to come up with the idea. Instead she was handed this poisoned chalice by Gordon Brown.

Last night in the lobby, some even dared think whether our Jacqui might be the next leader that Labour is looking for.

Oh my God! Can you imagine it? Jacqui Smith as PM - It would go down a storm with the police.

Jan Berry slaps down Jacqui Smith - Police Federation Conference.

Ever since I started blogging I have followed the speeches and press releases from the Police Federation. The one thing that always makes them interesting is the honest and straightforward opinion of their Chairman for the last six years: Jan Berry. Jan steps down as Chairman on completion of the police conference being held in Bournemouth this week. I will miss reading Jan's press releases and I can only hope that whoever steps into well worn shoes does the job to Jan's high standards. Jan did not disappoint when she made her key note speech at the conference today - She stuck the boot into Jacqui Smith good and hard:

At my first conference, I introduced the opportunity to ask questions of the Home Secretary. Although some Home Secretaries have subsequently regretted it – the session has been an important and healthy exchange of views. Home Secretary - I admire your courage. You didn’t have to come here today and I know conference will treat your office with the respect it warrants. I am sure when your Private Secretary reminded you of today’s event you felt like reaching for the nearest stab proof vest - and perhaps slipping into old habits and lighting up to calm your nerves…

… But as you have reassured us, you have moved on from these past indiscretions…
Your recent crimes have been more for the serious fraud office than the drug squad!

You will say that you could not take any risks with inflation by conceding on police pay. But let me ask you this. How was it that the government found 2.7 billion pounds to dig itself out of a tax hole in advance of a by-election but couldn’t find 30 million pounds to honour our pay deal?

And listen to this.

When teachers went on strike, the Prime Minister and the Education Secretary’s response was to say that it would be ‘irresponsible’ to over-ride the settlement recommended by their independent pay review panel. So it suited Mr Balls to defend the teachers’ panel deal but it didn’t suit you to do the same for us.

Home Secretary, what is it that Mr Balls has but you do not…..

Well done Jan. You will be sorely missed.

You can read Jan's full speech by clicking HERE. - Well worth a read.

Jacqui Smith - What planet are you living on?

You know, if I didn't know better, I would applaud Jacqui Smith's speech in Westminster today. However I do know better. She claims that the number of ASBOs issued has come down. There is a good reason for this - To get an ASBO you generally have to have been nicked several times for antisocial offences. However seeing as the government introduced "Fixed penalty notices" (£80 fine), you don't often get nicked for being antisocial. 32,000 notices were handed out last year, which is a massive increase on previous years:

Alan Gordon, vice-chairman of the Police Federation of England and Wales, says: "Let’s look at the reality of fixed penalty notices. Currently a third go unpaid and those who receive them get no criminal conviction. The Sentencing Advisory Panel suggestion that shoplifters (for example) could avoid jail no matter how many times they commit the offence is a disgrace. It sends out the wrong message at a time when the police and the public alike are sick to death of a criminal justice system which is far too lenient on those who break the law.

So if your crime is not going on record you are not likely to get an ASBO. Not only that, but if the offender agrees to be bound by an Acceptable Behaviour Contract (ABC) they will be told that they have been very naughty and get a slapped wrist (no fine). Actually I'm exaggerating, if they were to get a slapped wrist the officer involved would be sacked and had up for assault. Shadow Home Secretary David Davis said:

"It is bad enough such serious crimes are effectively being punished with a glorified parking ticket. Now we learn the government won't even bother to collect the fine."

And it gets much, much worse. This is from Hansard written answers:

Miss McIntosh: To ask the Solicitor-General what the Crown Prosecution Service's policy is on bringing prosecutions against young people for breach of anti-social behaviour contracts; and if she will make a statement.

The Solicitor-General: An acceptable behaviour contract is a preliminary, non-statutory intervention designed to tackle low level antisocial behaviour. Non-compliance cannot constitute a criminal offence that the Crown Prosecution Service could prosecute. The Crown Prosecution Service does not, therefore, have a policy on prosecutions against young people for breach of such contracts.

So Jacqui, reported crime is down and so are the number of ASBOs being issued. It's not really that surprising is it? Labour tough on crime - tough on manipulating the figures relating to crime. That's why you keep telling us that reported crime going down, while we in the real world see it going up.

Jacqui Smith accused of breaking election rules.

Just when Nick Robinson is telling us how the timing of Gordon Brown's visit to the US could have been much better - Jacqui Smith puts her foot right in it. I wonder if Gordon knows yet. I suppose he's getting the news as I'm typing this. I would not like to be the poor sod that has to give him the not so good news. Jacqui has been reported by the Conservatives for allegedly breaking election rules by making her terror police announcement during the local election period.

The letter of complaint was sent to the cabinet secretary by shadow communities secretary Eric Pickles:

"It is clear that Labour ministers have intentionally broken Cabinet Office rules in an attempt to create a political smokescreen. "They are trying to hide the fact that police authorities across the country are now axing the number of police officers, whilst hiking the police levy on council tax bills."

Police Federation - Poll for full industrial action rights.

The Police Federation of England and Wales are not going to let Jacqui Smith get away with welching on their pay arbitration. She may think it's over, but the Federation have other ideas. 140,000 Police Officers are to be polled on whether they wish the Federation to begin to lobby for full industrial rights for them.

The following is taken from a Federation press release :

Two questions will appear on the poll, which will be undertaken by independent research company Ipsos MORI:

1.Do you think the decision of the independent Police Arbitration Tribunal should be binding on the government?

2.In the absence of binding arbitration on the government, do you wish the Police Federation of England and Wales to start to lobby for a change in legislation to allow police officers full industrial rights?

The survey will be conducted both online and via paper questionnaires. Police Federation members will be able to access the online survey via www.polfed.org and Local Federation Branch Boards will also have paper questionnaires that can be distributed. Final details regarding distribution is still being finalised with branch boards. The survey will go live from 24th March. The online poll with close on 2nd May, and the paper poll will close on 25th April. The results will be available at the Police Federation annual conference in Bournemouth in May.

I wish them good luck. Why should Police officers be restricted to wage increases in line with the CPI (2.1%), when MPs increase their expenses in line with the RPI (4.3%)?

Jack Straw's bug inquiry is late, are you surprised?

The report into the bugging of Labour MP Sadiq Khan and his constituent - terror suspect Babar Ahmad, is late. Chief Surveillance Commissioner Sir Christopher Rose was to carry out an investigation and he hoped to report his findings to the Prime Minister, the Home Secretary and the Justice Secretary within two weeks of the 4th of February. Jack Straw told the House:

The chief surveillance commissioner, Sir Christopher Rose, has agreed to conduct an inquiry with the following terms of reference:

To investigate the circumstances relating to the visits to Babar Ahmad at HMP Woodhill by Sadiq Khan MP in May 2005 and June 2006, to establish whether the visits were subject to any form of surveillance and if so by whose authority and with whose knowledge, and to report his findings to the Prime Minister, the Home Secretary and to me as “the Justice Secretary.

The inquiry will of its nature be fact-finding. Sir Christopher has told me that his aim is to conduct the inquiry as quickly as possible, but consistent with the thoroughness required. He says that he will do his best to complete his task within two weeks. A further statement will be made to the House once we have received and have been able to consider his findings.

Two weeks have passed and there's no sign of the report. Obviously it's possible that Sir Christopher may need more time. However it's also possible that the report is complete and Jack, Jacqui and Gordon are waiting for a suitable hole to bury it in. A hole just like the Northern Rock hole that the draft WMD dossier was dropped into, days before it was officially due to be released. Or am I just being cynical?

Police Federation - High Court challenge over pay.

The following is a press release from the Police Federation:

Police Federation given permission to launch High Court challenge on pay decision

04.02.08

This afternoon the Police Federation has been successful and been granted permission to launch a High Court challenge to a government decision not to honour in full the decision of the independent Police Arbitration Tribunal. A judge said he had "no hesitation" in ruling there was an arguable case to apply for judicial review.

We have issued the following statement to the media:

Jan Berry, Chairman of the Police Federation of England and Wales, says:

"This is a positive step for the 140,000 police officers across England and Wales in their fight for fair pay. The fact that our application for a judicial review has been successful adds weight to what we have been saying all along – that the Home Secretary betrayed police officers by failing to honour the decision of the independent Police Arbitration Tribunal."

The two-day hearing will take place before two judges on 15 and 16 April - I wish them luck.

This government believes it is all-powerful. I hope the police put them straight.

Today: Police march and rally in London for fair pay.

The Police Federation are taking part in a march and a rally today. An estimated 15,000 officers are thought to be taking part in a one hour march from Park Lane to the Home office where petitions will be handed in by one representative from every force in England and Wales. I wish them good luck and hope that the media give this rally the publicity it deserves. If Jacqui Smith was hoping this was going die down, then I think she is very mistaken.

The news that police support staff and PCSOs have accepted a 2.5% pay deal will no doubt further infuriate front line police officers. The reason police staff and PCSOs got a better pay deal than police officers? - Their pay was negotiated by the union Unison. It seems clear that if you have the ability to strike, you stand a better chance of fair pay. No wonder the police federation are balloting members on the ability to take industrial action:

From the Police federeation website:

Why is the Police Federation voting on whether officers want the right to strike? It is illegal for police officers to take any form of industrial action. For nearly a century that is what has set officers apart from all other workers in the public sector. Many officers have said if the government wish to treat us like all other workers, then perhaps we should have the same employment rights. It was therefore decided that the Police Federation will hold a ballot of the 140,000 members to ask the question –'In the absence of binding arbitration, do you want the Police Federation to lobby for full industrial rights for police officers?’. It is intended that the ballot will take place at the end of February.

I've said many times before that this government have been in power far too long and they now believe that they can do anything they please. I hope the police federation are just the first group to show Gordon Brown and his government that they cannot ride rough shod over the people.

Police get shafted - If you can strike, you can get fair pay.

The news that police support staff and PCSOs have accepted a 2.5% pay deal today will no doubt further infuriate front line police officers. The reason police staff and PCSOs got a better pay deal than police officers? - Their pay was negotiated by the union Unison. It seems clear that if you have the ability to strike, you stand a better chance of fair pay. No wonder the police federation are balloting members on the ability to take industrial action:

From the Police Federation Website:

Why is the Police Federation voting on whether officers want the right to strike? It is illegal for police officers to take any form of industrial action. For nearly a century that is what has set officers apart from all other workers in the public sector. Many officers have said if the government wish to treat us like all other workers, then perhaps we should have the same employment rights. It was therefore decided that the Police Federation will hold a ballot of the 140,000 members to ask the question –'In the absence of binding arbitration, do you want the Police Federation to lobby for full industrial rights for police officers?’. It is intended that the ballot will take place at the end of February.

The Police Federation are also holding a rally on the 23rd of January 2008. An estimated 15,000 officers are thought to be taking part in a one hour march from Park Lane to the Home office where petitions will be handed in by one representative from every force in England and Wales. I wish them good luck and hope that the media give this rally the publicity it deserves. If Jacqui Smith was hoping this was going die down, then I think she is very mistaken.

I've said many times before that this government have been in power far too long and they now believe that they can do anything they please. I hope the police federation are just the first group to show Gordon Brown and his government that they cannot ride rough shod over the people.

Labour MPs are voicing their dismay over poor ministerial behaviour (Smith and Hain).

It seems that each day more and more Labour MPs are making statements to the media that are not at all supportive of their ministers. Over the last couple of days their comments have been aimed at Jacqui Smith and Peter Hain. Keith Vaz, Labour chair of the home affairs committee, Lindsay Hoyle and Andrew Mackinlay have all made it very clear that the police pay award could have been handled better. Keith Vaz believes that the police pay award is of such importance that it should be voted on in parliament. Lindsay Hoyle has called the two stage pay deal "unacceptable and unpalatable", and Andrew Mackinlay believes the deal would not only cause "disproportionate offence to public servants" and "collateral damage" to the Labour government, but it was also "unfair". However Jacqui is not listening:

"I had a responsibility to make a decision that was right for the police, for the affordability of policing and for the taxpayer as a whole."

What Jacqui fails to mention is that her actions are in breach of the police pay award arbitration.

As for Peter Hain - he is getting it in the neck from all angles. Even Gordon Brown has left him swinging in the breeze, saying that Peter's fate is out of his hands. Labour MPs Peter Kilfoyle, John Spellar and Ian Gibson have made it clear that Hain should step down for the good of the party. To add to Hain's woes, it looks like the police could be called in to investigate his undeclared donations.

Rumour has it that Gordon Brown plans to have a cabinet reshuffle in February. If I were Gordon, I would ensure that Harriet Harman, Peter Hain and Jacqui Smith would still be standing when the music stopped and all the cabinet chairs were taken.

A second Chief Constable tells Jacqui Smith to Shove her Christmas message.

Cambridgeshire's Chief Constable, Julie Spence, today joined the chief of Essex Police, Roger Baker, by refusing to pass on Jacqui Smith's Christmas message to her officers.

A spokesman said:

“We received an eight-paragraph letter sent to all forces thanking them for their work in 2007, praising them for their bravery and dedication and wishing them a happy Christmas. “The letter arrived two days after news of the pay dispute emerged. “Normally, the letter would be published on our force website but the chief constable felt it would be inappropriate to do that this year.”

Roger Baker said:

“While I have been happy to publish this in previous years, I feel that this year her message is not consistent with the decision she has taken over police officers’ pay.”

I like it:

Merry Christmas and thanks for all your hard work. In way of gratitude Gordon and I have decided not to honour that silly little pay arbitration thingy. I'm sure you won't mind.

Happy New Year.

Hugs

Jacqui XXX.

Illegal immigrant working on security staff at the Home Office.

I'm not sure - is this Jacqui Smith's biggest act of incompetence yet? A few days ago Jacqui claimed that it was the employer's responsibility to check whether their employees are illegal immigrants. Now it turns out that a member of security staff at the Home Office has been arrested for being an illegal immigrant. You could not make it up. I was driving home from work when I heard the news, and I couldn't help laughing.

Jacqui Smith told us that those employing illegal immigrants would be prosecuted, and I have to agree with what David Davis made of this farce:

"Last week the Home Secretary could not go out of her way enough to lay the blame for the SIA shambles at the door of employers. If she is going to try and avoid responsibility in such away she should at least check her own house is in order. Who will the Home Office now prosecute and fine? Itself?"

I've heard that this man was working on the front desk, checking bloody security passes! Jesus H Christ - the bloody Home Office! We need to invent a new word for this government, because the word incompetence does not even approach the pathetic level this bunch of clowns have sunk to.

This government has set itself very low targets, and failed to miserably achieve them.

Chief Constables attack dishonourable Jacqui Smith.

Some of the UK's top police chiefs have spoken out against the government’s decision not to honour the police pay arbitration. The Police Federation have called for the Home Secretary to resign, and they are to ballot their members on the right to strike. It's good to see 160 MPs are backing the police in their call for fair pay by calling on the government to reconsider its shameful decision.

The Chief Constables from Kent, North Wales, Devon & Cornwall and Cumbria have used words like: Cheated, mean, unnecessary, shabby, dishonourable and untrustworthy to describe the government’s behaviour. In fact the head copper in Cumbria, Craig Mackey refused to pass on Jacqui Smiths Christmas message to his officers. Personally I can't believe the cheeky cow has the neck to wish the police a merry Christmas. Talk about rubbing salt into the wound.

This is a showdown that will end in tears. Jacqui Smith will probably carry the can, but I have no doubt that she is only following Gordon Brown's orders. I've heard that to honour the pay arbitration the government would have to find £30m. This is just a drop in the ocean when you consider that the Department for Work and Pensions spent £11m on 1st class train tickets this year. And according to Iain Dale: Over the next seven years Britain will send £71 billion to Brussels - equivalent to £10.2 billion a year. And with us being the lowest recipient of EU spending, we will only see about half of that money come back to the UK.

Though the police deserve their pay rise, this is not about money, it is about the government honouring arbitration, it's about trust and it's about honesty. Unfortunately those attributes seem to be in very short supply inside No 10 Downing Street.

Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device

Three months of misery and cock-ups for Gordon Brown. Continued.

Click on the dates to read the story.

25/09/07
D'oh! - Greatest threat since WW2 - The sun publish an excellent graphic depicting Gordon Brown giving the British people the two fingered salute over the EU Treaty.

28/09/07
D'oh! - The number of prisoners in England and Wales has reached a record high.
Official figures suggest there were 81,135 people locked up in jails and in police stations.

06/10/07
D'oh! - According to Nick Robinson the BBC's political editor, Gordon Brown is to announce very shortly that he WILL NOT be calling an Autumn Election.

07/10/07
D'oh! - Gordon Brown's week is just not getting any better. It turns out that German Chancellor Angela Merkel has said that Robert Mugabe is entitled to attend a Europe-Africa summit.

09/10/07
D'oh! - European Scrutiny Committee report that they are not confident that Gordon Brown's EU Treaty red lines cannot be eroded over time.

09/10/07
D'oh! - Alistair Darling's Pre Budget Report receives massive criticism for stealing Tory policies.

22/10/07
D'oh! - Labour (who were not that serious about an autumn election) are allegedly facing a bill of £1 million for their election that "never was" campaign.

29/10/07
D'oh! - Independent ComRes poll shows the Conservatives 8 points clear of Labour.

04/11/07
D'oh! - Ruth Kelly apologises for breaking rules on using public money for party political material. She spent some of her £10,000-a-year communications allowance on a newsletter which repeatedly referred to "Labour".

07/11/07
D'oh! - Home Secretary Jacqui Smith said "The answer is I don't know" when she was asked on BBC Radio 4 just how long the proposed detention limit should be.

13/11/07
D'oh! - Jacqui Smith makes a statement in which she tries to explain (spin) why it was not announced back in July that 5,000 illegal immigrants have been wrongly cleared to work in security.

20/11/07
D'oh! - 25m sets of personal details get lost in the post. Bank account numbers, sort codes, names, addresses, dates of birth and National Insurance numbers.

23/11/07
D'oh! - Lords debate that saw five ex-chiefs of staff attack Gordon Brown for inadequate MoD funding levels and the appointment of "two hats" Des Browne.

26/11/07
D'oh! - Labour party's General Secretary Peter Watt resigns over dodgy donations.

26/11/07
D'oh! - ComRes poll commissioned by the Independent shows the Tories 13 points ahead of Labour.

28/11/07
D'oh! - Vince Cable brings the house down by pointing out the Brown had transformed from Stalin to Mr bean over the last few weeks.

29/11/07
D'oh! - The electoral commission call in the police to investigate the dodgy donations received by the Labour party.

30/11/07
D'oh! - Harriet Harman admits that she took out an unreported £40,000 extension to her and her husband's mortgage with the Halifax to fund the campaign.

3/12/07
D'oh! - Cabinet minister Peter Hain has said more donations to his Labour deputy leadership campaign "were not registered as they should have been". That's on top of the £5,000 donation that he forgot last week.

6/12/07
D'oh! - A leaked letter from Home Secretary Jacqui Smith, to the Chancellor Alistair Darling has got the police gnawing on their truncheons. It seems Jacqui is not keen to bide by the judgement of the Arbitration for the latest police pay award.

6/12/07
D'oh! - Jan Berry, Chairman of the Police Federation of England and Wales, says: If the government want a fight, they have got a fight. We are actively pursuing a legal challenge and have requested an urgent meeting with the Home Secretary who must be held to account for her scandalous decision."

7/12/07
D'oh! - Ben Brogan writes: Senior figures have been holding secret talks to decide a response to the drastic turnaround in Mr Brown's fortunes after a disastrous two months.

11/12/07
D'oh! - Frank Field requested a report from the Statistics Commission after the DWP gave him a dodgy estimation on the number of foreign workers in the UK. The report states that 80% of jobs created since 1997 have gone to foreign workers.

12/12/07
D'oh! - At PMQs Vince Cable said: "Given his (Gordon's) own position, the prime minister might not be wise to speculate on leadership elections".

13/12/07
D'oh! - Gordon Brown turns up late to sign the EU Treaty - to much criticism.

13/12/07
D'oh! - Jacqui Smith announces in a Commons statement that a least 6,653 (possibly 11,100) illegal immigrants are working security jobs in the UK.

13/12/07
D'oh! - At an emergency meeting about the police pay crisis, the staff associations representing the UK's 170,000 police officers have called for Jacqui Smith, the Home Secretary, to resign.

14/12/07
D'oh! - Scientists at the IAH blame the government for failing to stop the foot and mouth outbreak from spreading. The scientist say that Defra were wrong to give the all clear, and this led to the second outbreak a month later.

And the hits just keep on coming!

UK police officers call on Home Secretary to resign

The following is a press release from the Police Federation:

UK police officers call on Home Secretary to resign

12.12.07

At an emergency meeting held today (12th December) about the police pay crisis, the staff associations representing the UK's 170,000 police officers have called for Jacqui Smith, the Home Secretary, to resign. This followed a vote of no confidence at the meeting in Jacqui Smith's ability to deal fairly with police pay and conditions. The staff associations made clear that police officers had lost trust and faith in her. Jan Berry, Chairman of the Police Federation, and Chairman of the Staff Side of the Police Negotiating Board, says:

"Police officers across the United Kingdom have delivered a clear message to the Prime Minister. We no longer have any trust or faith in the abilities of Home Secretary Jacqui Smith dealing with our pay and conditions and she must go. "This is not just about money; it is about treating police officers fairly and honouring the decision of the independent Police Arbitration Tribunal. By not honouring the deal the Home Secretary has betrayed the trust of all UK police officers. "It's clear what needs to be done. Honour the deal in full or continue to feel the might and anger of police officers, the public and a growing number of politicians."

Jacqui Smith - 11,100 illegal immigrants working in security.

Jacqui Smith has announced in a Commons statement that a least 6,653 (possibly 11,100) illegal immigrants are working security jobs in the UK. Shadow home secretary David Davis said: "Last month we were told that there were 5,000 illegal foreign workers in the security industry. Then it was 10,000. Now it's up to 11,000."

Jacqui is trying to slope the blame onto individual employers saying they should have checked that the people they were employing were eligible to work in the UK. What a load of rubbish! If I were an employer and someone presented me with a licence from the Security Industry Authority (SIA), I would assume that they had been cleared to work in the UK. To suggest anything else is just ludicrous.

Incompetence is not the word. If every Minister who should resign, was to resign, then Gordon Brown would be very lonely at cabinet meetings.

Police Federation promise to fight Jacqui Smith over pay.

Oh dear, Jackie Smith has really gone and put her foot in it. The Police Federation gave Jacqui the chance to change her mind about not honouring their pay arbitration. She failed to take that chance. If the police were angry when they saw the Home Secretary's plans in a leaked letter to the Chancellor, they are bloody incandescent now it has been officially confirmed. This is the Police Federation's response:

Police Federation pursuing a legal challenge 06.12.07

Following the official announcement this afternoon by the Home Secretary that she will ratify the decision of the Police Arbitration Tribunal, but with effect from 1st December and not 1st September, giving an increase of just 1.9%, Jan Berry, Chairman of the Police Federation of England and Wales, says:

"Despite an eleventh hour appeal to the Home Secretary to change her mind on this, she has today confirmed to the 140,000 officers in England and Wales exactly what the government thinks of them. "The way my colleagues are being treated is absolutely disgusting. Compare this to our colleagues in Scotland who have been informed they will receive the full 2.5% backdated to 1st September. We are very pleased for them; unlike the Home Office the Scottish administration has acted with honour and demonstrated they understand the difficulties of modern policing and the restrictions on officers’ lives. "We are not going to take this lying down. If the government want a fight, they have got a fight. We are actively pursuing a legal challenge and have requested an urgent meeting with the Home Secretary who must be held to account for her scandalous decision."

There may be trouble ahead.

Jacqui Smith wants to extend 28 day detention limit to 42 days.

So much for announcing matters of importance to parliament and not to the media. Jacqui Smith strikes again. In an attempt to push out as much policy as possible to take the media's attention away from Labour's current woes, they have gone back on a promise made only weeks ago. Nick Robinson is one journalist who is not falling for it. Jacqui Smith told the media this morning of her plans to extend the 28 day detention limit to 42 days. Why 42 days? Well some believe that Jacqui is so desperate to raise the limit that she has lowered her previous wish of 56 days in the hope that she will gain support from the Labour back benches.

Liberty Director Shami Chakrabarti said:

“The Home Secretary’s abrupt announcement wastes so much goodwill and months of so-called consensus building on national security. There is no evidence to extend beyond what is already the longest period in the Western world. The Government risks alienating backbenchers, opposition parties and Liberty with this political gesture.” Flaws in the anticipated Government proposal to extend pre-charge detention include:

● powers for the Home Secretary to extend pre-charge detention in individual cases beyond 28 days without any evidence of a genuine emergency situation.

● weak Parliamentary oversight as MPs are not allowed to vote when powers are activated.

● inadequate judicial oversight, as the courts will not be able to review the decision to extend pre-charge detention.

You can read the full press release from Liberty by clicking HERE.

It is interesting to note that the police have never needed to go beyond the 28 day limit.