Anthony Barnett (London, OK): What is poor Jack Straw doing? What is happening to the bold reform programme pointed towards by the Prime Minister's Green Paper? Back on the 18th May Geoffrey Bindman alerted the first readers of OurKingdom to the concerns of the judiciary about the arbitrary way the Ministry of Justice had been created by Blair's fiat without debate by Parliament despite its constitutional implications.
Can a Minister of Justice, with added responsibilities for prisons and probation, safeguard the integrity and independence of the court service and the judiciary? It is hard to see the new Minister of Justice as any kind of bridge between the executive and the judiciary as he is so firmly lodged within the executive camp.
This was before Blair had resigned. Since Brown became premier the Ministry has also been put in charge of the national debate about the future of our constitution.
Justice should never have been given the prisons. Today, how can Jack, or anyone, not only have executive responsibility for them but also take the lead in negotiating with the Prison Officers Association (a fate I am not sure I’d wish upon any but my worse enemies) while overseeing the drafting of legislation to reform prerogative powers, being worked on by Lord Lester, carry out the harrowing task of seeing Mrs Philip Lawrence, appeal the Chindamo decision, AND plan an unprecedented region by region participative debate across the country on how we are governed?
Brown's agenda needed imaginative and dedicated leadership, it is getting neither. Solutions on a postcard please.
