Blunkett offers olive branch over reform

Home Secretary David Blunkett tried to bury the hatchet with lawyers last week with a plea for the government and the legal profession to work together in transforming the criminal justice system.

His conciliatory speech in Manchester to the solicitors' annual conference represented a marked climb-down from his recent attacks on the legal profession.

Mr Blunkett told solicitors that a constructive dialogue was possible between the government and lawyers.

'I have a responsibility to engage with you in a meaningful way,' he said, pointing to a significant basis for agreement between the Home Office and the Law Society over the proposals in the recently published criminal justice White Paper.

Speaking to reporters after his conference speech, Mr Blunkett said: 'The White Paper places emphasis on sorting out the system.

If both sides accept our responsibilities then we will get it right.

It was the spirit of the Law Society's response to the White Paper that formed the basis for the spirit of my response today.

We can have a dialogue.'

In his speech, the Home Secretary apologised to the conference for his remarks of several days before to police chiefs in which he said lawyers were 'in for a penny, in for 1,000'.

His olive branch followed a similar comment earlier at the conference, when the Attorney- General, Peter Goldsmith QC, told delegates that he did 'not believe that the present fee structure [for criminal work] encourages lawyers to prolong cases'.

Law Society chief executive Janet Paraskeva said: The Home Secretary praised the contribution the Society has made in shaping the government's plans.

'We look forward to continuing this constructive debate with our response to the White Paper.

It is clear that both the government and the profession share the belief that there is a real need to create a system which victims, witnesses and defendants have confidence in.'

In his remarks to the conference, Mr Blunkett emphasised that the court system needed urgent modernising to reduce delay and create more efficient justice.

But he took full responsibility for his side of the modernisation bargain.

Court delays were not exclusively caused by lawyers, he acknowledged, saying that the Home Office and the Lord Chancellor's Department must take responsibility for logistical problems.

'We need to improve the absurd and incompetent way in which prisoners are brought to court, he said.

'And I acknowledge that there are issues about access to prisoners for lawyers.

All of this has to be tackled head on.

And I accept responsibility for those issues.

And I have also discussed court-listing issues with Derry Irvine.

The court service must be brought into the 21st century.'

Mr Blunkett was adamant that reform of the criminal justice was required.

'The status quo is not an option when 40% of witnesses say they would not give evidence again, when only 26% of people are confident that the criminal justice system meets the needs of victims, and only 34% think it deals with cases promptly and efficiently.'

Although Mr Blunkett went some way towards lowering the temperature between him and the legal profession, the Home Secretary held firm on several key issues.

He harshly scolded critics the government's proposed reforms of the double jeopardy rules, describing them as 'reactionary'.

Said Mr Blunkett: 'People argue that it [double jeopardy] should not be changed because it has been like that for 1,000 years.

Well, so what? A thousand years ago DNA testing didn't exist and there wasn't modern technology.

The argument that we've always done it that way is the most reactionary of positions.'

The Home Secretary also reiterated his view that there are abuses in the processes of dealing with immigration and asylum applications.

'We must root out the fraudulent use of resources and those who are exploiting the system,' he told delegates.

He also said he was in discussions with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to put in place a process whereby applications for asylum can be made outside the UK.

Jonathan Ames