Reid comes in as Clarke laments exit
Reid comes in as Clarke laments exit
Also In The News
|
Newcastle's bid to allow Glenn Roeder to manage them full-time without the required coaching badge has not been granted by the Premier League. |  |
Friday, 05, May 2006 05:31
John Reid has arrived at the Home Office this afternoon to take up his new post as home secretary after the departure of Charles Clarke.
The man who is often referred to as the government's 'troubleshooter' takes up the latest in a long line of Cabinet positions at a difficult time for the government and after prime minister Tony Blair made sweeping changes to his inner circle.
Mr Blair changed the key figures at no less than 13 government departments, with education secretary Ruth Kelly and foreign secretary Jack Straw among the biggest casualties.
The decisive strike to remove Mr Clarke comes after he endured a tumultuous ten days following the revelation that 1,023 foreign prisoners had been released without being considered for deportation.
Mr Blair originally stood by his embattled home secretary and Mr Clarke insisted he would stay on in order to sort out the "systemic failure".
But after the clamour from the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats for Mr Clarke to resign over the affair increased, the prime minister opted to take decisive action.
In a statement after his removal from the Cabinet, Mr Clarke said it had been a "great honour" to be home secretary, but confirmed he will now be returning to the backbenches.
He explained that Mr Blair had offered him other jobs in government, but that he had decided it would not be right for him to stay on after having "staked my reputation" on the foreign prisoners scandal.
"The prime minister, as is his right and responsibility, has made the judgment that my continued occupation of the post of home secretary is likely to stand in the way of the continued reforms which remain necessary and though I do not agree with that judgment, I entirely accept his right to make it," a visibly downcast Mr Clarke said.
"However, I do not think it would be appropriate to remain in government in these circumstances and I will be returning to the backbenches, where I will be a strong and active supporter of this government and the leadership of Tony Blair for his full parliamentary term."
Mr Clarke's successor will have little time to settle in at his new job and will need to focus immediately on the ongoing foreign prisoners scandal.
But he arrives with an enviable record of dealing with difficult challenges, having held positions at the Ministry of Defence and Department of Health during equally testing times.
His appointment comes on a day when Labour endured one of its worst local election results in recent history, losing 288 seats and relinquishing control of 18 councils after all but three results had been declared.