Oldest trick in the book

Faced with a coruscating indictment of Tory mis-management of the prison system today from Andrea Albutt of the Prison Governors Association, this was the response from Bob Neill, chair of the influential Commons Justice Committee:

Conservative MP and chair of the Commons justice select committee, Bob Neill, told Today he did not share Albutt’s concerns over the government’s changes, saying the split between policy and operations happened successfully across other areas of the public sector.#

The bigger problem, Neill said, was a serious disconnection and growing lack of confidence between “the top brass, if you like, of the Prison Service and the operational people on the ground”.

Meanwhile the silence from Lidington is deafening*.

Looks to me that the Tories are measuring Michael Spurr, head of the service, for the drop, should prison riots break out this summer.  Exactly what Michael Howard did when he found himself in the firing line on prisons - insert your servants between you and the bullets.  Worked for him!**

NOTES

#  Odd, since that is not at all what the Committee he chairs said in their recent report:

“it is not clear how the relationship between HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS), responsible for operational management, and the Ministry, responsible for policy and commissioning, will work in practice. This lack of clarity could make it harder to see what is going wrong in prisons and why, and confusion about who is responsible for what could make prisons less safe and effective”.

* MoJ refused to appear or  make any statement to the Newsnight programme on 2 August; all we have from Lidington on the crisis is his banal 'open letters'.  But being new in the job will only work as alibi for so long....

** Lidington will be familar with this gambit: he started  his political life as Howard's PPS.  Maybe someone should ask him if he thinks 'prisons works'.