Falconer Backs SpinBlog in Judges Row

Well, it's a bit of an exaggeration and I probably shouldn't admit that I am in agreement with Lord Falconer. But on last night's Question Time he said exactly what I said a few days ago, that the problem with lenient sentences rests with the Home Office and not with judges who follow their guidelines.

Interestingly, the Home Office are tying to spin their way out of their earlier position by claiming that when Dr Reid criticised lenient sentences, he wasn't criticising judges. We all know he was - largely because he thought it would do his rapidly decreasing public credibility some good if he stood up and said something in line with The Sun's current campaign on soft judges.