Guardian: Former prisons chief attacks Jack Straw over penal reform stance

28th September 2010

Original article by Alan Travis, appeared in the Guardian, 28 September 2010

Barnardos CEO Martin Narey this week criticised the position of Jack Straw on the new penal policy shift proposed by Minister for Justice Ken Clarke.

Ken Clarke, the Conservative/Liberal Democrat coalition Minister for Justice, sparked hope among prison reform groups when he spoke of his disillusionment with the current skyward trend in prison numbers in England and Wales.

Former Labour Minister for Justice Jack Straw was quick to denounce the plans however, writing an article in the Daily Mail which came out strongly against the prospect of reduced imprisonment.

Narey said the opportunity for non-partisan reform of the prison system had been lost with the political point-scoring of Straw.

Martin Narey (currently the CEO of Barnardos until 2011) was formerly the Director General of the Prison Service and was the first Chief Executive of the National Offender Management Service.

Read more:

• Read the original Guardian article here.
• Read Jack Straw's Daily Mail article here.
• Ken Clarke's speech at the Centre for Crime and Justice Studies outlining his aims