Riot control the Blunkett way

Much hilarity over claims by the former head of the Prison Service that David Blunkett, while Home Secretary, had 'shrieked' at him to machine gun rioting prisoners. Blunkett is (of course) denying the claims. It's not hard to choose which of the two to believe, especially as one of them is a New Labour politician. Added to that, Blunkett has shown a tendency to lose both perspective and control at critical times. Remember his bizarre conduct during the Kimberly Quinn episode? And let's not forget his reaction on waking to the news of prisoner Harold Shipman's suicide. On that occasion, he wondered whether it was 'too early to open a bottle'. Let us leave to one side the issue of whether guilty prisoners deserve our concern. If he could show such naked delight at the death of a prisoner under his care as Home Secretary, why is it so hard to believe that he may have wished to gun them down?