David Blunkett - Conference speech

Home Secretary David Blunkett makes his speech to delegates at the Labour Party Conference in Blackpool. * 25/11/02: The Law Lords were handing down their judgment on a move to strip the Home Secretary of his power to dictate how long convicted murderers should spend in prison before qualifying for parole. In a test case affecting 225 prisoners which could have opened the way for moors murderer Myra Hindley to seek freedom, Mr Blunkett has faced demands that he should relinquish his role as the final arbiter of minimum tariffs for prisoners serving life for murder and hand the job back to the judges. Defence lawyers argue that the Home Secretary has a duty under the Human Rights Act not to violate a prisoner s right to a fair hearing. 10/01/03 Home Secretary David Blunket who was chairing a round table discussion to look at the wider picture after statistics showed firearms offences in England and Wales soared by 35% last year. Police, prosecutors and community leaders will be joined by Home Office ministers John Denham and Bob Ainsworth. A Government spokesman said the meeting would help agencies work towards a co-ordinated response to the increased prevalence of illegal firearms . *25/02/04: Home Secretary David Blunkett who explains in an exclusive article for PA News, why he wants a full and open debate on how to conquer the threat of international terrorism. Admitting that you have an open mind can be a dangerous position for a politician. The media - and to a certain extent, the voters - demand certainty from Government Ministers and if we come clean that we do not always have all the answers, we risk being derided as ineffectual, particularly if the subject is terrorism. (Photo by Phil Noble - PA Images/PA Images via Getty Images)