Blunkett starts comeback with yob call

David Blunkett has embarked on a rapid political comeback - with a plea to ministers to get tougher on parents of teenage thugs.

Less than 11 weeks since he quit as home secretary, Mr Blunkett was campaigning in London to shore up Labour's traditional support.

In an interview with the Evening Standard he made clear more had to be done to tackle low-level crime and nuisance that make life a misery for millions.

And he gave a strong hint he would leap at the chance to return to the Cabinet - a move widely expected if Labour win the election, with the party chairman being cited as a possible role.

Asked about a return, he said: "My life has been spent trying to make a difference. If we have a Labour government and a chance to change people's lives, that's what we're here for." He added, laughing: "No presumptions, no promises and then there will be no tears."

Mr Blunkett said Labour's manifesto should target parents, and suggested twinning anti-social behaviour orders (Asbos) for teenagers with parenting orders. Like Asbos, these would hold the threat of fines and prison if they were broken.

After touring a Battersea estate, Mr Blunkett hailed "dispersal zones" and curfew powers to rein in yobs, but added: "Parenting orders are the odd one out. They exist, but few agencies use them.

In the manifesto we should look at strengthening them.

"What I'd like are parenting orders alongside Asbos and dispersal and curfew powers. It means there is a clear responsibility on the parents not to wash their hands of the child's behaviour."

Mr Blunkett spoke after his first political campaign event in London since his fall from grace in December. He left the Home Office over the fast-tracking of a visa for the nanny of his former lover, Kimberly Quinn.

He will visit marginal constituencies in the North-West this month, and be used in "many more" seats, party sources confirmed. Tony Blair is keen to use Mr Blunkett's "hard man" image and recent polls show he is still highly rated by the public.

Some ministers lament that successor Charles Clarke lacks his "common touch".