Home Secretary Priti Patel is set to be handed control of sentencing powers under a radical shake-up of Whitehall being drawn up
- This move will give Ms Patel responsibility for prisons and parole conditions
- It comes after rows, including over release of London Bridge killer Usman Khan
- Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government will also have responsibilities stripped
Home Secretary Priti Patel would be handed control of sentencing powers under a radical shake-up of Whitehall being drawn up
Home Secretary Priti Patel would be handed control of sentencing powers under a radical shake-up of Whitehall being drawn up.
The move to give responsibility for prisons and parole conditions to Ms Patel – who once advocated the return of the death penalty – follows a series of rows over the release of London Bridge killer Usman Khan and plans to free black cab rapist John Worboys.
No 10 is also looking to strip the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government of responsibility for ‘community cohesion’ amid concerns that anti-radicalisation measures need to be ‘toughened up’, with the Home Office taking over.
The plans are likely to form part of wider reforms being drawn up by Boris Johnson’s adviser Dominic Cummings, including creating a standalone department to manage borders and immigration.
A Government source said: ‘The Home Office should have complete control over crime and punishment, an issue which came up repeatedly on the doorstep, and not be distracted by border controls and immigration.’
The move to give responsibility for prisons and parole conditions to Ms Patel follows a series of rows over the release of London Bridge killer Usman Khan (left) and plans to free black cab rapist John Worboys (right)