Blair Watch - Charles Clarke: His lies, Damn Lies and the Statistics: People are finally waking up to the fact that the unsafe elephant has been lying through his back teeth about the extent of the problem... since Charles assured us that the Home Office was on top of the problem - it has got worse, not better. Just under one third of the cases cited happened since August last year, AFTER Charlie's staff got on the case. The approximate rate of cases for deportation that should have been considered but were missed went up, from a couple a week, to more than one a day ON HIS WATCH. The number of missed cases didn't simply continue, it INCREASED after Charlie got on the case. His intervention made the problem worse, not better. That's neither a historical, or a systemic problem.

Worse, not better. Not even slightly improved.... but instead much, much, worse. And why? Most probably because Clarke knew that any serious move he made to correct the problem would result in that problem coming to light. Somebody might want to look into that.

David Davis (House of Commons, 26 April): Last night on "Newsnight", when asked if anyone was released in the period after we knew about this problem, the Home Secretary said, "Very, very few," but a statement broadcast after the 10 o'clock news announced that 288 more foreign criminals were released after the Home Secretary explicitly knew that there was a problem: 288 releases over eight months is actually a faster rate than 700 over six years. The rate of release of those criminals into the community was greater after July, when he found out, than it was before July. Does the Home Secretary really believe that almost 300 foreign convicted criminals released into our communities is "Very, very few"? I am afraid that I must tell him that I cannot think of a starker demonstration of a Minister not in charge of his Department.

Also worth noting is this exchange, that began shortly after Blair ran from the room:

Charles Clarke (Home Secretary): (rises)

Hon. Members: Resign!

Michael Martin (Speaker): Order. The House wanted a statement yesterday. The statement is here, and we must listen to the Home Secretary.

At this point, its worth reminding folks why the House was left wanting a statement the day before...

BSSC: What else is there to say about Charles Clarke? It seems that the problem actually got worse after he found out about it. It seems that he thought it more important to brief the media than to come to parliament to explain himself...

The pattern is clear... Clarke sought to tackle the perception of the problem rather than the problem itself.