So almost 1,000 prisoners, including murderers and paedophiles, some of whom judges ruled must be deported, have been released from prison - whereabouts unknown.
Home Secretary Charles Clarke says: "I do take full responsibility for this" and "It is a shocking state of affairs". Mr Clarke could not say "hand on heart" "all those involved would be tracked down"!
Is this the same Charles Clarke who proposes compulsory chip and pin enabled biometric identity cards - with personal bar-codes - effectively tagging the population, the vast majority of whom are law-abiding? It is more cost-effective to spend money tracking the criminals than introducing ID cards that give the State the means to track the whole population.
Mr Clarke attributes the failure to have systems and checks in place to deport dangerous criminals as "due to an oversight". Any suggestion this fiasco is anything other than a profound and systemic management failing beggars belief.
Glyn Myerscough,
Foxwood Hill,
York.
Updated: 09:25 Saturday, April 29, 2006
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