Law and order
Coalition united in restoring law, order and property
David Cameron’s convictions are best expressed in anger. Cameron exuded an air of the patrician yesterday with his righteous moral certainty. This may have made some observers squirm, but others… Continue reading
28 CommentsWhen the underbelly roars
When the first riots hit Brixton, I was 12 years old. My mates and I came from south London council estates and, while we were no angels, we certainly couldn’t… Continue reading
45 CommentsPolicing the Olympics
The reputation of the police may be as black as mud at the moment, but the Met has a chance to atone during the Olympics. Security forces have been making… Continue reading
9 CommentsClarke’s bill still not tough enough for the Right
David Cameron made a great show on Tuesday of pledging to be tough on crime. He bowdlerised the most contentious and liberal elements of Ken Clarke’s proposals and vowed that… Continue reading
6 CommentsPolicing the local and the national
Today’s announcement on a proposed new National Crime Agency (NCA) is a key element in the government’s ambitious police reform agenda. Recent political attention has focused on changes to police… Continue reading
10 CommentsCameron stamps on Clarke
Ken Clarke was summoned to Downing Street yesterday, the BBC reports. He spoke to David Cameron for half an hour, after which the controversial sentencing review was dropped: there will… Continue reading
25 CommentsClarke’s crimes
One of the Conservative leadership’s worries at the moment is that the party is losing its reputation for being tough on crime. So it won’t welcome today’s Daily Mail splash… Continue reading
28 CommentsYou couldn’t make it up: Crook freed from jail to look after his five kids
Sometimes I wonder if the judiciary and the human rights culture are just trying to make Richard Littlejohn’s columns look understated. Today’s story in the Daily Mail about how a… Continue reading
47 CommentsWhat Ken Clarke should have said
The Ken Clarke media storm continues. But, talk to lawyers and they complain that the Justice Secretary did not have sufficient command of his brief to redirect Victoria Derbyshire’s line… Continue reading
8 CommentsWhat has Ken done wrong?
What has Ken Clarke done wrong — other than commit the political sin of making a media gaffe? Nothing. In yesterday’s now infamous BBC interview, he was simply attempting to… Continue reading
23 CommentsClarke for the high-jump
Dominic Grieve’s fate as shadow Home Secretary was sealed by a lunch at News International headquarters in Wapping. Grieve went to lunch with various Sun executives and rather than talking… Continue reading
50 CommentsCameroons livid with Ken
It is hard to overstate the fury with Ken Clarke in the Cameroon circle today. One well-informed Tory source just told me, ‘they [Cameron and Osborne] just can’t wait to… Continue reading
41 CommentsIs Clarke’s fate sealed?
Ken Clarke is in the middle of a media firestorm following his comments on rape. The remarks were typical of Clarke’s dismissive attitude to the victims of crime and Downing… Continue reading
38 CommentsClarke’s calamity
Has Ken Clarke just signed his own political death certificate? Whether you agree with his liberal sentencing reforms or no’, there’s little doubting that the Justice Secretary has just stumbled… Continue reading
31 CommentsThe Lords punish Cameron over policing
In Number 10, they are already concerned that they are losing public support on crime and punishment. David Cameron is planning to give a speech on the subject that will,… Continue reading
24 CommentsCoulson to stay
The indefatigable Paul Waugh reports that Andy Coulson plans to break Tom Watson’s delicate heart: the government’s communications director is not going to resign for whatever it is that he… Continue reading
16 CommentsLabour’s terror u-turn doesn’t lessen its authoritarianism
It is a day for about turns. First, the Pope has taken a historic decision to approve the use of condoms to fight AIDS; second, Labour has vowed to change… Continue reading
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