"David Blunkett told the prison service to call in the Army and "machine-gun" inmates during the 2002 Lincoln Prison riots, the former director general of the service has claimed.
Martin Narey said the former Home Secretary was "hysterical" when he telephoned him on the evening of the riot, and told him to order staff back into the prison.
Mr Narey, who is now Chief Executive of Barnado's, wrote in The Times: "He shrieked that he didn't care about lives, told me to call in the Army and 'machine-gun' the prisoners and - still shrieking - again ordered me to take the prison back immediately. I refused."
OK, Mr Blunkett may have become a little over-excited but I rather doubt that he fell prey to hysteria. I mean, no-one could possibly describe Mr Blunkett as psychologically flawed, could they?
I confess that I have not been following the publication of Mr Blunkett's diaries, believing that they were probably just a disgracefully self-serving account of how he was always right and all his colleagues were idiots. But clearly I must revise my opinion.
One thing I don't understand: why is Mr Blunkett a member of the Labour Party?
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