PM has “full confidence” in Clarke
Downing Street has insisted that Tony Blair has “full confidence” in the home secretary, denying reports that the prime minister has criticised Charles Clarke for a lack of action against anti-social behaviour.
According to a leaked document, the prime minister warned Mr Clarke at a meeting on June 20th that there was a danger of “a sense of fatalism” creeping in if more action was not taken to tackle issues of “respect.”
The minutes of the Downing Street meeting, dated June 21st, were obtained by the Sunday Times and the Sunday Telegraph and are reported as stating: “On respect the prime minister said this was a real issue for the public.
“We needed to address it now otherwise a sense of fatalism would set in.”
“School discipline and truancy were part of the problem that needed tackling,” the minutes reportedly add.
The Sunday Times also reports that the record of the meeting shows the prime minister expressed concern that the recent debate over identity cards had been dominated by considerations of cost and that sentencing policy was determined by the number of prison places available.
The Sunday Telegraph adds that Mr Blair has snubbed Mr Clarke by ordering the head of the government’s antisocial behaviour unit, Louise Casey, to report directly to him.
Responding to the claims, Downing Street denied that the prime minister had given Mr Clarke a “dressing down” at the meeting.
“The prime minister has complete confidence in the home secretary and to suggest otherwise is absurd,” a Downing Street spokesman said.
