Off with their heads: The blame game

Off with their heads: The blame game

It was during a phone conversation with Phil Wheatley, Director General of the National Offender Management Service (NOMS), that he mentioned that he was miffed with the accusations and call for his resignation in this article by David Ramsbotham, the former Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Prisons (HMCIP).

David Scott, the former London Probation Chief Officer, wrote in the Guardian: “I finally understood the message I had been given…I resigned”. He jumped before he was pushed.
He states: “I took over at London Probation four years ago following the murder of City financier John Monckton, which exposed serious failings in the way two offenders had been managed by probation officers”. Now someone else will take over after the Sonnex case. Were the lessons not learned after the Monckton case?

David Scott accepts responsibility for the failings of his department, however, he is not happy that only he has been made to walk the plank. He feels that others should also resign or be sacked for their part in this whole affair. Certainly, he has the support and sympathy from David Ramsbotham. However, Phil Wheatley said: “He should have got his facts right before he shot his mouth off”. Hopefully, Matt Seaton will now allow Phil Wheatley the right of reply in the Guardian’s Comment is free section?

Jack Straw, Minister of Justice, in his statement to the House of Commons stated: “In relation to the failings of the probation service, I take full responsibility as secretary of state”. If David Scott had to resign on accepting responsibility, by the same token shouldn’t Jack Straw also resign? And, shouldn’t Phil Wheatley also resign? According to Phil Wheatley: “No”. He gave his reason applying the test could he or should he have reasonably known what would happen? He answered in the negative.

Personally, I believe this would have happened whoever was the London Probation Chief Officer at the time. As Jack Straw pointed out in his statement: “The direct responsibility for these killings must lie – as the jury found – with the criminals Sonnex and Farmer”. I think if it had not been the two French students, Mr Bonomo and Mr Ferez, it would have been somebody else at some time somewhere down the line.

These rare but extremely high profile cases have the head hunters crawling out of the woodwork. In the backlash from the Monckton case I was subjected to some increased supervision by my probation officer. I felt that as the case had nothing whatsoever to do with me this was an unfair intrusion. In prison lifers expecting the Parole Board to direct their release would suddenly find themselves having to serve longer because of the media coverage of a particular case, just because the Parole Board went into panic mode. The thirst for sacrifice must be satiated.