Charles Clarke: ...to our earlier debate about the responsibility of shareholders and of businesses for business practices. The right hon. Member for Holborn and St. Pancras (Frank Dobson) and the hon. Member for Twickenham (Dr. Cable) discussed the responsibility of considering mortgages in terms of the sub-prime issues. It would be a serious mistake to relax the regulatory obligation, and indeed the...
Charles Clarke: ..., those children should be categorised on the basis of their merit, achievement and talent. That is how it should be done, and that is how it will be done. As I said to the hon. Member for Twickenham (Dr. Cable), the detail of the assessments to be taken into account is the subject of a paper that we will publish in the next two or three weeks.
Charles Clarke: We have heard some excellent speeches during the debate--they did not all consist of political tub-thumping--and a wide range of important points were made. I thank the hon. Member for Twickenham (Dr. Cable) for initiating the debate. The tone with which he and his Liberal Democrat colleagues spoke was correct. They tried to identify the problems, but suggested that there had been progress...
Charles Clarke: ..., the establishment of borough commands, the increased resources and the development of the focus on visibility, is the diversity agenda, to which the hon. Members for Kingston and Surbiton and for Twickenham referred. It is important and it is beginning to change the situation. Specials are being recruited and we have set a target to increase their numbers significantly because I agree...
Charles Clarke: With respect to the hon. Gentleman, that adds nothing to his previous intervention and I have nothing further to add. As he said, what is happening now at Twickenham is happening under current law with the current powers of the police. We are discussing disorder when ``A senior police officer may make a closure order in relation to relevant licensed premises if he reasonably believes that''...
Charles Clarke: ...whatever the police say has to be supported? I do not think so—that is not the way in which the system operates in any respect. As the hon. Member for Surrey Heath suggested with his example of Twickenham and the Rugby Football Union, the police already have powers that allow them to take action in such circumstances. The powers in the Bill, subject as they are to magisterial...
Charles Clarke: I understand that the hon. Gentlemen's concern is practical, but I do not accept the underlying premise, based on the example of Twickenham, to which the hon. Members for Reigate and for Surrey Heath referred. According to it, the police are likely to deal with disorder by imposing a blanket order, thereby wiping out half a dozen pubs in the vicinity. I can see that that is possible in...
Charles Clarke: The idea that I was complacent about it is absurd. In fact, in my reply to the intervention from the hon. Member for Twickenham (Dr. Cable), I indicated precisely the opposite. We have been able to be flexible in relation not only to the metropolis, but to other forces such as Thames Valley police in rejigging the crime fighting fund initial allocations, to meet the particular circumstances...
Charles Clarke: First, I congratulate the hon. Member for Twickenham (Dr. Cable) on securing this Adjournment debate. I also congratulate the hon. Members for Kingston and Surbiton (Mr. Davey) and for New Forest, East (Dr. Lewis) on their interventions. Initially, I was tempted to draw some association between Liberal Democrats and graffiti, but then I thought that that would be unworthy. I shall therefore...
Charles Clarke: ...that offences such as vehicle crime, burglary and violent crime take a higher priority than quality-of-life issues such as vandalism and graffiti. However, the points made by the hon. Member for Twickenham are warranted, and we should take them very seriously. The Government recognise the damaging effect of vandalism and graffiti on neighbourhoods and how people feel about living where...