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Jacqui Smith

Court to rule whether home secretary Jacqui Smith acted illegally on police
2008-06-06 18:19:00
The high court will rule whether home secretary Jacqui Smith acted illegally after her refusal to backdate the police pay rise next week (Tuesday, 10 June). The Police Federation, which represents rank and file officers, t
Exclusive: Jacqui Smith now 20/1 to replace Gordon Brown.
2008-06-03 16:30:00
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 BROWNJacqui 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...
Jan Berry slaps down Jacqui Smith - Police Federation Conference.
2008-05-21 18:02:00
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 war...
Jacqui Smith - What planet are you living on?
2008-05-08 12:26:00
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 c...
Jacqui Smith accused of breaking election rules.
2008-04-16 12:01:00
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.
2008-03-17 16:31:00
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 wi...
Jack Straw's bug inquiry is late, are you surprised?
2008-02-19 19:56:00
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 possi...
Police Federation - High Court challenge over pay.
2008-02-04 19:17:00
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...
Today: Police march and rally in London for fair pay.
2008-01-23 10:43:00
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...
Police get shafted - If you can strike, you can get fair pay.
2008-01-18 16:41:00
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 quest...
Labour MPs are voicing their dismay over poor ministerial behaviour (Smith
2008-01-15 07:49:00
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 ...
A second Chief Constable tells Jacqui Smith to Shove her Christmas message.
2007-12-22 19:28:00
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.HugsJacqui XXX.
Illegal immigrant working on security staff at the Home Office.
2007-12-17 21:00:00
I'm not sure - is this the 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 bl...
Chief Constables attack dishonourable Jacqui Smith.
2007-12-15 10:04:00
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 Br...
Three months of misery and cock-ups for Gordon Brown. Continued.
2007-12-14 20:00:00
Click on the dates to read the story.25/09/07D'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.07/10/07D'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.09/10/07D'oh! - European Scrutiny Committee report that they are not confident that Gordon Brown's EU Treaty red lines cannot be eroded over time.09/10/07D'oh! - Alistair Darling's Pre Budget Report receives massive criticism for stealing Tory po...
UK police officers call on Home Secretary to resign
2007-12-13 16:49:00
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 decis...
Jacqui Smith - 11,100 illegal immigrants working in security.
2007-12-13 14:58:00
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.
2007-12-06 22:55:00
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 06.12.07Following 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 b...
Jacqui Smith wants to extend 28 day detention limit to 42 days.
2007-12-06 16:24:00
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 polit...
Donorgate - Do not bite the hand that could be arresting you.
2007-12-06 02:30:00
Apparently 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. The following is a press release from the Police Federation of England and Wales:A truly dishonourable move by the Home Secretary, a letter to the Chancellor of the Exchequer exposes the absolute contempt held for policing by the Home Office and this government. The letter which on the surface appears to ratify the pay arbitration finding, goes on to deliver the final blow to police officers by asking the Chancellor to support her in a decision that will not only pay police a lower than inflation award but effectively cut police officers pay for 2007.Jan Berry, Chairman, Police Federation of England and Wales: "This is contemptuous behaviour by the Home Secretary, and has rightly angered the 140,000 police officers in England and Wales wh...
Alistair Darling must explain his "lost data fiasco" statement discrepancie
2007-11-25 08:31:00
If you have read the news headlines this morning, you will have soon realised that this is going to be a VERY bad day for Gordon Brown and his cabinet. George Osborne wants to see Darling get up in parliament to explain the discrepancies between in his statement made last week and what we now know to be the truth. Was a junior HMRC desk jockey to blame for the CDs going walkabout, or is it as George Osborne says, that there are documents which suggest that senior officials were well aware of what happened? I know what my money would be on.Also the time line for all this is a bit confusing to say the least. The CDs were posted on the 18th of October (with or without management approval?). On the 3rd of November, HMRC senior management are told the CDs are lost in the post. Now, here is where it gets a little puzzling, why did it take them until the 10th (eight days later) to inform Darling and hence the PM? And why did it take until the 14th of November (a further 5 days) for...
Alistair Darling, where are my bank details?
2007-11-20 19:42:00
I could not believe what I was listening to at 15:30 today. How the hell did 25m sets of personal details get lost in the post? My details are contained on one of the two missing discs, my bank account number, sort code, name, address, date of birth and National Insurance number. In fact everything that a crook could want. Why was this not brought to public attention sooner? Darling has made his excuses, but could it have something to do with him not wanting to announce such an almighty balls-up at the same time Jacqui Smith was informing the country that our security companies are overrun with illegal immigrants? Did they try to cover this up, just as they covered up the security fiasco?Darling said there was no evidence the data had fallen into criminal hands, which also means there is no evidence to show that it hasn't - Muppet. He's telling us there is nothing to worry about, but, and it's a big but, we should monitor our bank accounts. I sit here now, not knowing whether som...
PMQs - When did Jacqui Smith tell Gordon about the illegal immigrant securi
2007-11-14 13:36:00
14 Nov 2007: When did Jacqui Smith tell Gordon Brown about the illegal immigrant security failure? That was the question David Cameron asked the prime minister during PMQs. And the answer is that we may never know because Gordon chose to dodge the question on several occasions. This was a major security breech, and no matter what action Jacqui Smith claims she took, the people should have been informed. If it wasn't a cover up then it was definitely incompetent stewardship of public safety. I seriously hope that this is not going to be swept under the carpet. For one thing, there can't be much room left under there.Gordon also managed to dodge (twice) the question put by Vincent Cable, of how much money has been lent to Northern Rock and whether he could guarantee that it would be repaid in full, with interest, within the time period of the current parliament. All in all, Brown has done himself and his party no favours today. He failed to answer a perfectly reasonable question on ...
Jacqui Smith must love Bird Flu.
2007-11-13 17:21:00
Just as Jacqui Smith stood at the dispatch box to explain herself for what looks like a cover-up of the fact that she knew in July that up to 5,000 illegal immigrants have been cleared to work in the security industry, Bird Flu came to the rescue. What a coincidence! DEFRA announced that the Bird Flu outbreak on a Suffolk farm was indeed the deadly H5N1 strain at almost the exact moment Jacqui stood up.Wow what a stroke of luck for Jacqui. After the Bird Flu announcement Jacqui doesn't even make the front page of the BBC News Website.Do some people make their own luck?
For her next trick - Jacqui Smith will spin 5,000 illegal security workers.
2007-11-13 12:30:00
This Afternoon at 15:30 Jacqui Smith will make a statement in which she will try to explain (spin) why it was not announced back in July that 5,000 illegal immigrants have been wrongly cleared to work in security. Apparently leaked papers show the home secretary knew about this in July, and David Cameron is claiming that it appears that this has been kept quiet because it was: "going to look bad for the government". You know, he could just be on to something there.This, if true, shows a complete lack of competence, followed by a complete lack of honesty when the security of our country was at risk. These people have been working for the Metropolitan Police, airports and ports. I'm looking forward to Jacqui's explanation. It's going to have to be a beauty to convince me that the public has not been put in serious danger after an unbelievable cock-up.According to the BBC, a subsequent Home Office report on 20 August admitted that neither the department nor SIA knew the extent of th...
Jacqui Smith has no idea about detention limit.
2007-11-07 13:19:00
After all the fuss Labour have been making over extending the 28 day time limit for how long terror suspects can be held without charge, today the 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 limit should be.Though Jacqui acknowledged that the police hadn't yet needed any longer than 28 days, she insisted that there was "widespread support" for an extension. It's funny but the only support I've seen for this Bill is from the Labour Party itself.The Tories are proposing post-charge questioning as a better option.What do you think?Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device
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