Blair on prisons

TUC conference. A prison officer raises the issue of prisons with Tony Blair. He asks why the number of prison places has increased since Labour came to power. I would have thought the answer to that was glaringly obvious, but let that pass. He then attacks Blair for increasing the role of the private sector, accusing him of 'putting people in prison for profit'. Ludicrous. Anyway, Blair rises to answer to that charge. The reason the number of prison places has increased is ... then he stops short. He stutters. He pauses. He lowers his eyes to the floor. How to explain that the increase is due to rising crime rates under his Government? Finally, he hits upon a face-saving form of words: the increase in prison places is due to the rising number of sentences being passed.

A half-hearted confession, but a confession, nonetheless.

By the way, for more on prisons, don't forget to check out the excellent PrisonWorks initiative.