Home Office in meltdown, John Reid to resign?

Well, Dr John "Comrade" Reid said 8 months ago when he took over the home office, that it was unfit for purpose. A read of today's newspapers indicate that it still is, but ministers are in some bizarre game of buck passing and ducking responsibility. Dr john Reid, Tony McNulty and Joan Ryan all need to go, and soon.

We have of course the latest foreign criminal scandal, this time relating to mostly UK citizens who get a criminal record in the EU, and then return to have their files carefully piled up in boxes to be ignored. I wrote about it here.

Well, more news has surfaced since. The Observer has this about a criminal, Dale Miller, convicted in Switzerland and Germany for violent offences latter went onto commit manslaughter here. Were his record known he would of course have got a longer sentence.

The Sunday Telegraph has this on the buzz of activity around ACPO's criminal records office, or rather lack of it.

Micheal Howard also wrote this opinion piece which lays into John Reid over this scandal but as a foot note tells us that the Assets Recovery Agency is to close, having cost the tax payer £18 million to recover £4.3 million.

Could it possibly get any worse?

Apparently yes. Apparently funding issues will mean a cut in front line police numbers, which may well see crime start to rise again. Remember also that the police are burdened as never before with paperwork. It just makes you weep. The Sunday Telegraph has this whilst the Observer has this.

Update 18:00

According to the BBC a senior civil servant has been made a scapegoat suspended over the criminal records fiasco. You can read the BBC's article here.

it looks like the civil servant is also a member of the First Division Association which covers the arses of serial cock up merchants looks after the interests of the most senior civil servants.