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Britons Believe Clarke Should Be Fired
(Angus Reid Global Scan) - Many adults in Britain think one of the highest ranking cabinet members should be sacked, according to a poll by Populus released by the BBC. 63 per cent of respondents think prime minister Tony Blair should fire home secretary Charles Clarke.
On Apr. 26, Clarke admitted that more than 1,000 foreign-born prisoners were released from British jails but not deported. At least five of them are known to have re-offended.
Two days leader, Conservative leader David Cameron criticized the Labour government, saying, "They tell us they are going tough on crime, yet released 1,000 prisoners, including paedophiles, violent criminals and murderers."
Yesterday, Liberal Democrat leader Menzies Campbell said Clarke "could no longer command public confidence. (...) The consequence of that is inevitable, he ought to resign."
Last week in an interview with Sky News, Clarke revealed that he offered to step down, saying, "I didn't think I should resign. I owed it to offer (the prime minister) my resignation. He turned it down."
Polling Data
Should prime minister Tony Blair fire home secretary Charles Clarke?
Yes | 63% |
No | 32% |
Not sure | 5% |
Source: Populus / BBC
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 1,004 British adults, conducted from Apr. 26 and Apr. 27, 2006. No margin of error was provided.