No quick-fire solutions, please

CHARLES Clarke has for sometime drawn admirers for his intellectual prowess – not so commonly found among his fellow cabinet members. It could be said at one level that last night (Wednesday) he also demonstrated political courage with his tour of the ‘murder mile.’ We trust he will not return to Whitehall with quick-fire solutions, accompanied by a dash of spin doctoring, to address the crisis of social instability facing differing parts of the borough.
We can only repeat the advice we gave the Town Hall last month. Every effort should be concentrated on the creation of youth facilities, youth facilities and yet more youth facilities. This of course will not solve societal problems but it will be a step in the right direction.

Press guilty of racism

THE Tories are calling for the head of Sir the Metropolitan Police chief, Sir Ian Blair in a Commons’ motion over his ill-advised remarks on the Soham murders. But when he accused the media of being institutionally racist he was not far off the mark.
While the liberal press can be said to have adopted an even-handed approach to race reporting, the popular papers – with the exception of the Daily Mail – stand guilty of being antediluvian. The debate on racism in the media was started by the National Union of Journalists nearly 30 years ago. Progress has been made. More minority ethnic group staffers can be found in the newsrooms of newspapers, radio and TV. But the media still fails to reflect Britain as it is.

Man of the people

FRANK Dobson has been the best health minister Britain has had since the 1970s. Sacked by Blair six years ago, the NHS has never been the same since. Alan Milburn showed he was just another Yes Minister, John Reid faded away, while Patricia Hewitt is capricious, shallow and supine. Those who have followed her career since the 1980s may well say: ‘I told you so.’
Fortunately, Dobson stands up for the people. Head down, he is ready to butt against Hewitt’s cataclysmic plan to privatise the NHS by stealth.
His attack this week on the green-light given to a US company to take over a GP practice in Derbyshire deserves public support.

‘Ming’ be merciful

MENZIES Campbell is rumoured to want to take the Lib Dems to the right. This would be disastrous for the party in Camden. So far, they have managed to turnaround a growing number of Labour voters. Put the Lib Dems right of centre, and their hopes in Camden may well be dashed. They have enough on their plate to cope with the current crop of scandals.