We all know how government works; I think we can draw parallels between the system in the States, and the system here in the U.K. There are differences, but for the purpose of this thread, we can forget them.
The government is empowered to pass legislation; once that legislation has been approved, it is the govenment that is responsible for ensuring that the new 'acts' 'directives' (whatever you wish to call them), are put into practice.
So, new legislation is approved, and the government is charged with putting it into action. In July last year, the Home secretary was charged, under new legislation, to ensure that guilty of crime' immigrants who had been put in prison here, prior to repatriation to their countries of origin. That never happened.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-2152305,00.html
The Conservatives called today for the resignation of Charles Clarke over a Home Office blunder that saw more than a thousand foreign prisoners released from jail without any consideration as to whether they should be deported.
NI_MPU('middle'); In angry exchanges in the Commons both David Cameron, the Tory leader, and David Davis, the Shadow Home Secretary, questioned Tony Blair's decision to let Mr Clarke continue in his job despite his offering to resign.
The freed prisoners, released between 1999 and last month, included three foreign murderers, nine rapists and five child sex offenders, all of whom would normally be considered for deportation after serving their sentences.
The pressure on Mr Clarke increased sharply after it emerged that 288 - or more than a quarter - of the prisoners were released since the Government was officially informed last summer that the system was failing to identify foreigners liable for removal from the UK.
Mr Clarke had said last night that "very, very few" had been released since a National Audit Office report last July.
The issue dominated a heated session of Prime Minister's Questions, where Mr Cameron charged that Mr Clarke had presided over "systemic failure", failed to deal with it and had then "misled people" over the scale of the problem.
"Isnt it clear that he cannot give the Home Office the leadership it so badly needs?" Mr Cameron demanded.
Mr Blair replied: "It wont surprise you to know I dont agree with that."
It emerged today that Mr Blair has twice refused to accept his Home Secretary's offer to resign, the last time yesterday afternoon after the scandal emerged.
The Prime Minister told MPs today that the system for identifying foreign prisoners and ensuring that they were considered for deportation before their release was now working properly and had been since April 1.
Mr Blair said that £2.7 million in extra funding for the Immigration and Nationality Directorate, which liaises with the Prison Service on foreign prisoners, had helped sort out the problem.
But while he said that it was a "matter of deep regret" that the 1,023 foreign prisoners had been released, he said that many of those cases had since either been considered or were currently under consideration.
To Tory jeers and cries of "you're on your own", Mr Blair left the chamber immediately after Question Time before Mr Clarke got up to deliver his statement to the House, in which he promised to find out what had happened to the released prisoners.
The Home Office has so far been able to track down only 107 of them, of whom 20 have been deported, and has now called in the police to help find the "missing" former prisoners.
Basically, the opposing political parties are trying to make a meal of this (and so they should); a 'head' must roll; but whose?
Is it the guy at the top, or the guy at the bottom who should go?
Ie, in this case, the home secretary (who may very well have given instructions for these immigrants to be deported), or the guy below him, or below that one, who didn't put into practice the instructions?
The government is empowered to pass legislation; once that legislation has been approved, it is the govenment that is responsible for ensuring that the new 'acts' 'directives' (whatever you wish to call them), are put into practice.
So, new legislation is approved, and the government is charged with putting it into action. In July last year, the Home secretary was charged, under new legislation, to ensure that guilty of crime' immigrants who had been put in prison here, prior to repatriation to their countries of origin. That never happened.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-2152305,00.html
The Conservatives called today for the resignation of Charles Clarke over a Home Office blunder that saw more than a thousand foreign prisoners released from jail without any consideration as to whether they should be deported.
NI_MPU('middle'); In angry exchanges in the Commons both David Cameron, the Tory leader, and David Davis, the Shadow Home Secretary, questioned Tony Blair's decision to let Mr Clarke continue in his job despite his offering to resign.
The freed prisoners, released between 1999 and last month, included three foreign murderers, nine rapists and five child sex offenders, all of whom would normally be considered for deportation after serving their sentences.
The pressure on Mr Clarke increased sharply after it emerged that 288 - or more than a quarter - of the prisoners were released since the Government was officially informed last summer that the system was failing to identify foreigners liable for removal from the UK.
Mr Clarke had said last night that "very, very few" had been released since a National Audit Office report last July.
The issue dominated a heated session of Prime Minister's Questions, where Mr Cameron charged that Mr Clarke had presided over "systemic failure", failed to deal with it and had then "misled people" over the scale of the problem.
"Isnt it clear that he cannot give the Home Office the leadership it so badly needs?" Mr Cameron demanded.
Mr Blair replied: "It wont surprise you to know I dont agree with that."
It emerged today that Mr Blair has twice refused to accept his Home Secretary's offer to resign, the last time yesterday afternoon after the scandal emerged.
The Prime Minister told MPs today that the system for identifying foreign prisoners and ensuring that they were considered for deportation before their release was now working properly and had been since April 1.
Mr Blair said that £2.7 million in extra funding for the Immigration and Nationality Directorate, which liaises with the Prison Service on foreign prisoners, had helped sort out the problem.
But while he said that it was a "matter of deep regret" that the 1,023 foreign prisoners had been released, he said that many of those cases had since either been considered or were currently under consideration.
To Tory jeers and cries of "you're on your own", Mr Blair left the chamber immediately after Question Time before Mr Clarke got up to deliver his statement to the House, in which he promised to find out what had happened to the released prisoners.
The Home Office has so far been able to track down only 107 of them, of whom 20 have been deported, and has now called in the police to help find the "missing" former prisoners.
Basically, the opposing political parties are trying to make a meal of this (and so they should); a 'head' must roll; but whose?
Is it the guy at the top, or the guy at the bottom who should go?
Ie, in this case, the home secretary (who may very well have given instructions for these immigrants to be deported), or the guy below him, or below that one, who didn't put into practice the instructions?
