Actions Have Consequences

The fallout from the Boris car crash interview with Andrew Marr continues as he digs himself ever-deeper into a quagmire of lies he desperately hopes will win the Tories votes as the party of law and order. This from the Guardian:-

Boris Johnson ignores family’s plea not to exploit victims' deaths

Boris Johnson has been accused of twisting the facts of the London Bridge terror attack in a “distasteful” attempt to turn it into an election issue, as he tried to blame Labour for the release of the terrorist who stabbed two people to death. Despite one of the victims’ families pleading for their son’s death not to be used as an excuse for kneejerk political reaction, Johnson claimed that “a lefty government” was responsible for Usman Khan being freed.

The family of Jack Merritt called for the murder of “our beautiful, talented boy” to not be exploited for political gain, as police named the second victim as Saskia Jones, a prisoner rehabilitation volunteer. But the Conservatives nonetheless sought to push a perceived political advantage on the issue, promising to end early release for people convicted of terrorism, while saying Jeremy Corbyn was unable to keep the public safe.

Early on Monday, as the day’s front pages emerged covering a proposed Tory crackdown on those freed after serving sentences for terrorism, Merritt’s father David tweeted saying: 

“Don’t use my son’s death, and his and his colleague’s photos – to promote your vile propaganda. Jack stood against everything you stand for – hatred, division, ignorance.” The family added: “Jack lived his principles: he believed in redemption and rehabilitation – not revenge – and he always took the side of the underdog.”

--oo00oo--

Meanwhile The Independent interviews Ian Acheson who reminds us all that the reason we are where we are is of course as a result of those massive cuts to prison and probation brought about by a Tory government:-

Extremism expert attacks Boris Johnson for misleading public on roots of terror risk and blames ‘crazy austerity cuts’

An extremism expert has blamed “crazy austerity cuts” for the dangers posed by released terrorists and accused Boris Johnson of misrepresenting the crisis after the London Bridge attack. The “destruction of the prison and probation service” under the Conservatives lay behind the threat, said Ian Acheson, who carried out a review for the government, adding: “You cannot get away from that.” 

Ed Davey, the Liberal Democrat deputy leader, urged Mr Johnson stop “trying to make political capital out of a tragedy” and to apologise for “misleading people” over the law regarding early release. The cause was “privately acknowledged” by ministers, he said, urging them to admit publicly: “We went far too far, far too fast – we are now reaping what we sowed.”

The criticisms are hugely damaging for the prime minister, coming just hours after he denied any possible link between steep funding cuts and the deadly attack carried out by Usman Khan on Friday. Mr Johnson has blamed Labour sentencing policy and claimed only a Conservative general election victory can keep the UK safe, triggering accusations that he is trying to weaponise the tragedy for political gain.

But Mr Acheson said he was “depressed” by what was turning into an “arms race on sentencing”, arguing it ignored the crucial issue of what goes on in prisons and probation. “What we need to be focusing on is the capability of the public protection services, from the first night of the terrorist offender’s time in custody to the last day of his supervision in the community,” he urged. Having advised governments across the world, Mr Acheson said he was “shocked” by what he found in British prisons when he carried out his review for Michael Gove, in 2015. 

He attacked “a lethal combination of arrogance, ineptitude and defensiveness in Whitehall”, with “fearful” staff struggling because “training simply didn’t exist”. “At the heart of this is the destruction of the prison and probation service through crazy, failed, ideological austerity cuts,” he told BBC Radio 4’s The World This Weekend programme. Mr Acheson, who described himself as “a Conservative”, said he had made 69 recommendations, but they were “conflated” into 11 in an official response to his report.

Earlier, Mr Johnson denied steep cuts to the criminal justice system had been “a mistake”, replying: “No.It was nothing to do with parole, nothing to do with the probation service,” he insisted, on the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show, referring to Khan’s attack. The prime minister’s focus purely on sentencing rules inherited from Labour – which he wrongly claimed left judges with “no option” but to grant Khan automatic early release – has drawn increasing criticism.