The trials and tribulations of the Home Office are dominating the Sunday Papers although they cannot agree on the headlines.
The Independent leads with
Waiting lists for prisoners
Emergency measures to place offenders on "waiting lists" for prison places have been drawn up by John Reid, the Home Secretary, in an attempt to solve the overcrowding crisis.
The Independent on Sunday can reveal that a controversial measure for "queuing" criminals, even burglars and people convicted of violent assault, is one of a raft of proposals being considered by Mr Reid.
The move comes amid mounting chaos over prison overcrowding, putting Mr Reid at the centre of a political storm and a worsening row with the judiciary over convicted criminals avoiding jail because of the crisis.
The Independent on Sunday can reveal that a controversial measure for "queuing" criminals, even burglars and people convicted of violent assault, is one of a raft of proposals being considered by Mr Reid.
The move comes amid mounting chaos over prison overcrowding, putting Mr Reid at the centre of a political storm and a worsening row with the judiciary over convicted criminals avoiding jail because of the crisis.
The Times reports that
Reid to give sex offenders lie tests
JOHN REID is to introduce compulsory lie detector tests for the first time in Britain to assess whether paedophiles are at risk of reoffending.
The home secretary is backing a legal amendment that would allow compulsory polygraph tests to monitor sex offenders after their release from jail.
Probation officers would be able to subject paedophiles to tests measuring their breathing, heart rate and sweat to establish whether they were safe to remain in the community.
The move, to be included in a criminal justice bill now in the Commons, will be seen as an attempt by Reid to reassert his authority in the face of the crisis about prison overcrowding.
The home secretary is backing a legal amendment that would allow compulsory polygraph tests to monitor sex offenders after their release from jail.
Probation officers would be able to subject paedophiles to tests measuring their breathing, heart rate and sweat to establish whether they were safe to remain in the community.
The move, to be included in a criminal justice bill now in the Commons, will be seen as an attempt by Reid to reassert his authority in the face of the crisis about prison overcrowding.
The Observer reports
Reid thrown lifeline by judge as new figures show jail crisis
last night Reid was thrown a lifeline by the country's most senior judge. The Lord Chief Justice stepped in to calm the bitter row between the judiciary and the Home Office that has followed Reid's comments, declaring it was 'appropriate' for judges to consider the state of prison overcrowding when passing sentence.
Lord Phillips of Worth Matravers said the Home Secretary had not sought to instruct judges to stop imposing prison sentences on offenders.
In a statement, he described Reid's advice on sentencing as a 'helpful summary of the present situation'. But in a barbed conclusion to his statement, Phillips added: 'There is no need for me or the sentencing judge to comment on the current state of the prisons as the Home Secretary has already described it as highly regrettable.'
Lord Phillips of Worth Matravers said the Home Secretary had not sought to instruct judges to stop imposing prison sentences on offenders.
In a statement, he described Reid's advice on sentencing as a 'helpful summary of the present situation'. But in a barbed conclusion to his statement, Phillips added: 'There is no need for me or the sentencing judge to comment on the current state of the prisons as the Home Secretary has already described it as highly regrettable.'
Whilst predicting that
Britain's prison population will hit a record high this year, according to internal Home Office estimates that predict there will be 83,500 inmates by the start of the summer.
The new figures show that the department's plans for containing the prisons crisis are unlikely to hold beyond July. According to private Home Office estimates shared with The Observer, the record will be broken when the prison population increases by another 3,498 inmates. The estimates assume that all 800 foreign nationals held in the prison system and awaiting deportation will be removed by July.
The new figures show that the department's plans for containing the prisons crisis are unlikely to hold beyond July. According to private Home Office estimates shared with The Observer, the record will be broken when the prison population increases by another 3,498 inmates. The estimates assume that all 800 foreign nationals held in the prison system and awaiting deportation will be removed by July.
The News of the World has though upped the problems with a special report highlighting
322 SEX FIENDS LOOSE
BUNGLING police have lost track of THREE HUNDRED AND TWENTY TWO sex monsters now at large on our streets, a shock News of the World investigation reveals.
British forces supposed to keep tabs on freed offenders from rapists to paedophiles have confessed to us that they have no idea where they are.
Our findings will strike a mixture of fear and fury into parents across the l
British forces supposed to keep tabs on freed offenders from rapists to paedophiles have confessed to us that they have no idea where they are.
Our findings will strike a mixture of fear and fury into parents across the l
and — and further infuriate Home Secretary John Reid who is already dealing with a series of prison and sentencing scandals.
The Express's lead seems to be defending the Home Secretary
John Reid: I'll beat back stabbers
A DEFIANT John Reid last night warnedplotting political rivals that he would not be forced out over the prisons crisis.The embattled Home Secretary told friends that senior politicians in his own party and civil servants in his crisis-ridden department were scheming against him. But he made it clear that he would face down his persecutors and stay on to sort out the turmoil.One close aide said: “John wants to carry out reforms but he knows that there will be people trying to prevent him from doing so.“There will be people inside the Home Office leaking information against him, there will be trade unions against him and the Tories will be against him too, obviously. There will also be some inside the Labour Party who will want to get rid of the ‘meddlesome priest’. But he is not going to be deflected.”
The Telegraph continues to put the government under pressure over the Honours scandal
Cash for honours paper trail leads to Blair revealing that
Detectives have discovered a hand-written note from Tony Blair among new evidence that has widened significantly the cash-for-honours investigation.
It is the first time that the "paper trail" uncovered by Scotland Yard has led directly to the Prime Minister. The note is understood to acknowledge the efforts of Labour's 12 secret lenders who provided £14 million to help the party fight the 2005 election.
It is the first time that the "paper trail" uncovered by Scotland Yard has led directly to the Prime Minister. The note is understood to acknowledge the efforts of Labour's 12 secret lenders who provided £14 million to help the party fight the 2005 election.
The Indy reports on the same topic
Electoral watchdog: Take Labour to court over honours
The official elections watchdog, which is advising Scotland Yard investigators, is preparing to say that Labour has "a case to answer" and should face charges.
The case against Labour under the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act (PPERA) is now being prepared by the police. They are also gathering evidence for possible conspiracy charges.
The Electoral Commission, which is to give its opinion on the PPERA as the official regulator, is understood to believe that Labour should be tried because it is unclear that loans it accepted from millionaire backers were made on normal commercial terms.
The case against Labour under the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act (PPERA) is now being prepared by the police. They are also gathering evidence for possible conspiracy charges.
The Electoral Commission, which is to give its opinion on the PPERA as the official regulator, is understood to believe that Labour should be tried because it is unclear that loans it accepted from millionaire backers were made on normal commercial terms.
The News of the World looks at a consequence of this scandal.It reports that
THE cash-strapped Labour Party owes a whopping £27MILLION and is on the brink of bankruptcy, the News of the World can reveal.
And it is now having to go cap in hand to banks and wealthy backers to try and re-schedule £23million of the debt.
The party was due to repay loans of almost £11million this year, but it can only afford to hand back £4million.
More bad news is that a £2million lifeline handed over this month by Britain's richest man has almost all been spent.
The money, from Indian steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal, was supposed to help fund election campaigns. But sources say almost every penny has gone on paying a backlog of wages to staff. Treasurers have warned it will be years before the party is back in the black—scuppering any hopes Gordon Brown had of calling a snap election, which would cost £20million, when he moves into Number 10. A more urgent problem is the amount of money due for repayment this year—much of it loans from donors caught up in the cash-for-honours scandal.
And it is now having to go cap in hand to banks and wealthy backers to try and re-schedule £23million of the debt.
The party was due to repay loans of almost £11million this year, but it can only afford to hand back £4million.
More bad news is that a £2million lifeline handed over this month by Britain's richest man has almost all been spent.
The money, from Indian steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal, was supposed to help fund election campaigns. But sources say almost every penny has gone on paying a backlog of wages to staff. Treasurers have warned it will be years before the party is back in the black—scuppering any hopes Gordon Brown had of calling a snap election, which would cost £20million, when he moves into Number 10. A more urgent problem is the amount of money due for repayment this year—much of it loans from donors caught up in the cash-for-honours scandal.
The Times amongst other reports on what will be Tony Blair's last address to the Davos Summit
Blair upbeat in address to Davos
TONY BLAIR told world leaders yesterday that he believed far-reaching international deals on Africa, trade and climate change could be sealed within months.
Addressing the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Blair said that although he would be leaving office soon he was determined to play a leading part in the next few months.
“Take these issues — Africa, climate change, world trade — and imagine over the coming months the world agrees and over the coming years, it acts,” he said. “Think how attractive our story of the world’s progress would be. Then think of failure and who will weep and who will rejoice.”
Addressing the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Blair said that although he would be leaving office soon he was determined to play a leading part in the next few months.
“Take these issues — Africa, climate change, world trade — and imagine over the coming months the world agrees and over the coming years, it acts,” he said. “Think how attractive our story of the world’s progress would be. Then think of failure and who will weep and who will rejoice.”
The Observer has features an article by David Cameron and leads on its content,
Cameron blast at crude bullying on 'British values'
David Cameron today dramatically shifts the terms of the debate over Britishness by demanding a new language of cohesiveness on the controversial issues of faith, race and nationhood.
In a ground-breaking article in today's Observer, the Tory leader lambasts the government for its aggressive approach, arguing: 'It's no use behaving like the proverbial English tourist abroad, shouting ever more loudly at the hapless foreigner who doesn't understand what is being said. We can't bully people into feeling British - we have to inspire them.
In a ground-breaking article in today's Observer, the Tory leader lambasts the government for its aggressive approach, arguing: 'It's no use behaving like the proverbial English tourist abroad, shouting ever more loudly at the hapless foreigner who doesn't understand what is being said. We can't bully people into feeling British - we have to inspire them.
To the Redtops now and the Mirror has an exclusive interview with Jo O,Meara,the latest evictee from Big Brother and at the centre of the racist controversy
EXCLUSIVE BB JO: I'M NOT SORRY AND I'D DO IT AGAIN
BIG Brother villain Jo O'Meara last night shamelessly refused to say sorry for bullying Shilpa Shetty... then attacked her for getting "special treatment" inside the house.
In a shockingly arrogant interview, she also defended her vile comments about Indians being skinny and said: "They should take what I said as a compliment."
In a shockingly arrogant interview, she also defended her vile comments about Indians being skinny and said: "They should take what I said as a compliment."
The Mail claims
Race allegations return to haunt Channel 4 boss
The TV boss at the centre of the Big Brother race row faced claims that he was involved in the racist abuse of a pupil when he was at school.
A mixed-race female former pupil at the grammar school where Channel 4 chairman Luke Johnson was educated claims he called her a "Paki cow' and taunted her: "Go home wogs."
Her claims were backed by her Burmese-born mother, who said Johnson's 'racist bullying' had caused her daughter 'a lot of anguish'.
And the two women were supported by another ex-pupil who claimed that Johnson wore a National Front badge at school and that he and a group of friends abused a black pupil, calling him 'nigger' instead of using his name
A mixed-race female former pupil at the grammar school where Channel 4 chairman Luke Johnson was educated claims he called her a "Paki cow' and taunted her: "Go home wogs."
Her claims were backed by her Burmese-born mother, who said Johnson's 'racist bullying' had caused her daughter 'a lot of anguish'.
And the two women were supported by another ex-pupil who claimed that Johnson wore a National Front badge at school and that he and a group of friends abused a black pupil, calling him 'nigger' instead of using his name
The News of the World has another exclusive
THE WORLD'S OLDEST MOTHER AGED 67
THE pensioner who has become the world's oldest mum has showed off her twin babies for the first time and confessed: "I CONNED doctors I was younger."
In an exclusive News of the World interview, 67-year-old spinster Carmela Bousada tells the full amazing story of WHY she was so desperate to bring new life into the world when she's so close to the end of her own.
And she sensationally reveals HOW she secretly plotted to get pregnant whatever the cost.
In an exclusive News of the World interview, 67-year-old spinster Carmela Bousada tells the full amazing story of WHY she was so desperate to bring new life into the world when she's so close to the end of her own.
And she sensationally reveals HOW she secretly plotted to get pregnant whatever the cost.
The People's lead story has
DEC BROKE MY HEART
DANCING On Ice favourite Clare Buckfield has told how TV star Declan Donnelly broke her heart.
Clare - tipped to win the ITV1 Saturday night show - has spoken for the first time of her devastation after the I'm A Celebrity host cheated on her with a lapdancer.
More than three years after she dumped Declan - one half of Geordie presenters Ant and Dec - Clare has admitted to a friend: "I still cry myself to sleep thinking of what might have been.
"Declan broke my heart even though I'm still in love with him."
Clare - tipped to win the ITV1 Saturday night show - has spoken for the first time of her devastation after the I'm A Celebrity host cheated on her with a lapdancer.
More than three years after she dumped Declan - one half of Geordie presenters Ant and Dec - Clare has admitted to a friend: "I still cry myself to sleep thinking of what might have been.
"Declan broke my heart even though I'm still in love with him."
Back to more serious matters,and the Indy reports
Battle for Baghdad: City braces itself for US surge
Lina Massufi, a 32-year-old Iraqi laboratory assistant with two children, is a widow - her husband was killed by US troops when he accidentally drove down a closed road in 2003. In the past three months she has seen her house raided and her furniture smashed 12 times.
"Every time they raid my house, they break down the door," she told a UN official. When she asked them why they did not ring the bell "they laughed at me and called me an idiot". Her brother Fae'ek, a pharmacy student, was arrested and held in prison for a week. "He returned with signs of torture on his body, and was crying like a baby because of the pain."
Her story shows why the odds are against what may be President George Bush's final gamble in Iraq: the attempt by US troops, now receiving 17,500 reinforcements, to regain control of Baghdad. The plan is for US forces, along with Iraqi army and police, to enter Sunni and Shia districts in the capital, cleanse them of insurgents and militia and then stay put, preventing their return. In his State of the Union speech last week Mr Bush told Congress: "With Iraqis in the lead, our forces will help secure the city by chasing down the terrorists, insurgents, and the roaming death squads."
"Every time they raid my house, they break down the door," she told a UN official. When she asked them why they did not ring the bell "they laughed at me and called me an idiot". Her brother Fae'ek, a pharmacy student, was arrested and held in prison for a week. "He returned with signs of torture on his body, and was crying like a baby because of the pain."
Her story shows why the odds are against what may be President George Bush's final gamble in Iraq: the attempt by US troops, now receiving 17,500 reinforcements, to regain control of Baghdad. The plan is for US forces, along with Iraqi army and police, to enter Sunni and Shia districts in the capital, cleanse them of insurgents and militia and then stay put, preventing their return. In his State of the Union speech last week Mr Bush told Congress: "With Iraqis in the lead, our forces will help secure the city by chasing down the terrorists, insurgents, and the roaming death squads."
The Telegraph reports from Darfur
Aid workers tell of brutal attack by Darfur police on female colleague
Aid workers have described how they watched helplessly as Sudanese police officers dragged a female United Nations worker from an aid agency compound in Darfur and subjected her to a vicious sexual attack.
Staff say they feared for their lives when armed police raided their compound in Nyala, dragging one European woman out into the street by her hair and savagely beating several other international staff before arresting a total of 20 UN, aid agency and African Union staff.
Staff say they feared for their lives when armed police raided their compound in Nyala, dragging one European woman out into the street by her hair and savagely beating several other international staff before arresting a total of 20 UN, aid agency and African Union staff.
According to the report
The attack, the latest in a series of assaults on international aid workers, has forced relief agencies to consider pulling out of the troubled region.
The UN and Britain have condemned the brutality and demanded action from the Sudanese authorities.
The UN and Britain have condemned the brutality and demanded action from the Sudanese authorities.
The Observer tells us
Barclays' millions help to prop up Mugabe regime
Barclays bank is helping to bankroll President Robert Mugabe's regime in Zimbabwe, providing millions of pounds of support for his vilified land reforms, The Observer can reveal. Mugabe's opponents describe the bank's activities as a 'disgrace' and an 'insult' to the millions who have suffered human rights abuses.
Barclays is the most high-profile of three British-based financial institutions, which, in total, have provided more than $1bn in direct and indirect funding to Mugabe's administration. The other two companies are Standard Chartered Bank and the insurance firm Old Mutual. According to influential newsletter Africa Confidential, that first disclosed the Barclays' loans, the British organisations provide an economic lifeline keeping Mugabe's regime afloat.
Barclays is the most high-profile of three British-based financial institutions, which, in total, have provided more than $1bn in direct and indirect funding to Mugabe's administration. The other two companies are Standard Chartered Bank and the insurance firm Old Mutual. According to influential newsletter Africa Confidential, that first disclosed the Barclays' loans, the British organisations provide an economic lifeline keeping Mugabe's regime afloat.
And finally
THE last time she was here she was dubbed a “frumpy fashion disaster” and accused of trying too hard by wearing high-heeled shoes.
Says the Express
Camilla wows America
The royal couple were well received in Philadelphia yesterday for the start of a whistle-stop weekend visit to America.Hundreds turned out to greet Charles and Camilla, the city’s first visit from a Prince of Wales since Edward VII in 1860.
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