Cameron blasted for new climbdown on key prisons policy

PRIME Minister David Cameron was lambasted yesterday for overseeing a “total mess” on prison sentencing and the health service after another apparent climbdown on a key policy.

Labour leader Ed Miliband said Mr Cameron seemed to have “torn up” controversial plans for halving jail time for serious criminals in the face of a major backlash.

He also dismissed concessions over the coalition’s health service shake-up, insisting Mr Cameron was “completely shameless and will say anything”.

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But the Premier said Mr Miliband was merely “jumping on bandwagons” and displaying “weak leadership”. He backed Justice Secretary Ken Clarke, who personally championed the sentencing reforms, saying he was doing a “superb job”.

The clashes came during a bad-tempered Prime Minister’s Questions session in the Commons, which saw the Speaker call for language to be toned down.

Mr Cameron is believed to have ordered Mr Clarke to think again at a one-on-one meeting yesterday to discuss the prison plans.

The U-turn has been greeted with delight by the Tory right – but will leave Mr Clarke having to find up to £130m of savings elsewhere at his Department.

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Raising the issue in the Commons, Mr Miliband said: “He knows and the whole country knows he is in a total mess on his sentencing policy, just like on all his other crime policies.”

He pointed out that it was the second time in two days that Mr Cameron had stepped in to execute a policy climbdown, after he announced significant changes to NHS reforms.

But Mr Cameron insisted: “What we want is tough sentences for serious offenders. “We produced a consultation paper that had widespread support for many of the proposals and in the coming weeks we will be publishing our legislation.”

As the exchanges become more heated, Mr Cameron was rebuked by Speaker John Bercow after suggesting that his counterpart had misled MPs on health service waiting times.