Courts lock up too many youths: Labour and Tories to blame

Liberal Democrats claim that too many adolescents are locked up for the crimes they have committed.

Chris Huhne doesn’t blame judges though. He thinks that they are under too much pressure from the Tories and Labour:

“It is deeply alarming that so many children are being locked up when youth experts think they shouldn’t be, especially when we know there is a 92% re-offending rate after a young man’s first prison sentence. We are schooling too many children in crime at the public’s expense.

“Britain incarcerates far more children than any other European country and it is not working – youth crime and re-offending are not falling.

“I don’t blame judges, who are operating in an environment where both Labour and the Tories are obsessed with looking tough on crime. Political posturing and the punitive demands of sections of the media are forcing us into treating many young people far too harshly.

Mind you, now the Met Police are accusing the Tories of applying undue pressure on them. Bob Quick of the Met says the Conservatives are deploying dirty tricks whilst he investigates the Home Office leaks case. The Conservatives are having none of it, and demand an apology from the Assistant Commissioner.

Can’t they just call it a draw and let us enjoy the Christmas break? No, probably not I guess.

UPDATE: The Assistant Commissioner has issued a retraction. He’d been evacuating his loved ones from their family home after the Mail on Sunday printed a story about his wife’s home-based company. Presumably he felt this compromised their security. Anyway, it sounds like he was under pressure when he gave the original quote.