Blunkett apology for frontline police

Home Secretary David Blunkett escaped a mauling from a hostile police audience today with a remarkable public apology to frontline officers.

Mr Blunkett, who has been accused of treating officers "disgracefully" in his determination to force the pace of reform, admitted: "I have made mistakes." Police Federation delegates, who jeered and slow-hand-clapped his predecessor Jack Straw, had been widely expected humiliate him.

However, Mr Blunkett came through a difficult speech relatively unscathed, after disarming delegates at the Bournemouth conference with repeated apologies for mistakes in the negotiations over police pay and conditions.

His speech came moments after Police Federation chairman Fred Broughton denounced what he called a Home Office "whispering campaign" based on cheap insults against the police.

The visibly rattled Home Secretary began his address greeted by stony silence and looked uncomfortable for much of it. But with the unscripted speech, mixing praise for officers with tough talk about clamping down on young bail bandits, he managed to dodge the fate of a generation of Home Secretaries going all the way back to Labour's Merlyn Rees, who was jostled and shoved by angry officers as he left their conference in 1977.

Mr Blunkett won polite applause and even a couple of laughs.

The Home Secretary, who has had to climb down on his plan to slash police overtime rates, admitted that a compromise, where forces will undertake to cut the overall bill for long hours, was a better approach.

He restated his plan for civilian beat patrols, which the Police Federation derides as a "cut-price police force". But he made clear they will not be imposed on any force which does not want them.

He emerged with his dignity intact and will hope now to move forward in partnership with the police on a reform programme designed to sharpen performance and cut crime.

After the address, officers on the floor expressed surprise that the Home Secretary had got off so lightly. One said: "It was an impressive Houdini act."

Metropolitan Police Federation chairman Glen Smyth said: "The only way he could get away with it was to apologise, which he did. If he had not started by apologising he would have been in serious trouble."

At a press conference later Mr Blunkett, clearly relieved his ordeal was over, paid tribute to the "maturity and dignity" of the 1,500-strong audience. "I think it's of great credit to the police service and the federation that they responded in this way," he said.

Mr Broughton, who had earlier accused the Home Office of causing " the deepest resentment and anger" among officers that he had seen in 30 years, said he wanted to gauge members' reactions to the speech. "We have cleared the air and need now to make the pay and conditions package work and improve the police service," he said.

Mr Blunkett promised a war on red tape to free rank-andfile officers from paperwork, announcing a review of all legislation governing police practices under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984. The number of codes of practice governing evidence gathering have grown by 25 per cent since then.

He also announced funding of £140 million towards a new hi-tech emergency call handling system to help the Met cope with an average of nearly 2.5 million 999 calls a year.

? Mr Blunkett was reunited with a long-lost relative today - a 52-year-old police traffic officer also called David Blunkett and based in Boston, Lincolnshire. The cousins, who last saw each other 40 years ago, got in touch when the officer's daughter Emma ran into the Home Secretary at a rail station.