You’ve gotta feel for Crispin Blunt. Quite aside from the ridicule he undoubtedly received for the astonishing Christian name bestowed upon him by his parents, the Prisons and Youth Justice Minister has been overruled twice more to take his tally of swallowed statements to three in under a week.
After media outcry at Blunt’s announcement of a “rehabilitation revolution” last week, the Brokeback Coalition has turned sidesaddle on the Prisons Minister, repudiating any notion that sentences may be reduced in the event of a forthright apology. Furthermore, the coalition pledge to give pre-charge anonymity to rape defendants, a cause championed by good ol’ Crispin, has been dropped after opposition pressure, who branded it “deeply disturbing”.
Now, political smarkets hasn’t got odds on junior ministerial departures, but if it did I’d wager a fair few prison parties that Crispin might be on course for early release.
