Reshuffle ready if Huhne has to quit

With news that Essex police have passed their file on Chris Huhne to the Crown Prosecution Service, I am told that Nick Clegg and David Cameron have already agreed on what would happen in a mini-reshuffle if Huhne has to resign as Energy Secretary, in charge of Department of Energy and Climate Change.

The reshuffle, which would only involve Liberal Democrats, has been designed to cause the minimum of disruption.

So who would get Huhne's job? My personal tips would be Ed Davey and Norman Lamb, both of whom were badly treated when jobs were handed out at the formation of the coalition last year.

Ed Davey is now a parliamentary under secretary in the Business Department, a pretty junior job considering that he was once the Liberal Democrat Foreign Affairs spokesman.

Norman Lamb, having been vetoed by Andrew Lansley last May over getting a post at health, was then promised the post of Minister of State at Development, only suddenly to be told that that job had instead gone to the Conservative Alan Duncan. Which was all a bit rough considering that Lamb had been a prominent and effective member of the Lib Dem front bench in opposition.

Eventually Lamb got compensation in the dual jobs of being a whip and Nick Clegg's PPS.

Another possibility might be to promote the Foreign Office minister Jeremy Browne, but Browne is among the most right-wing of Lib Dem MPs. Replacing the left-ish Chris Huhne with Browne would upset many of the party faithful, and might not be a wise move just before a party conference. But if Browne was indeed to become Energy Secretary, then Davey would be an obvious replacement for Browne at the Foreign Office.

The other intriguing possibility - replacing Huhne with David Laws - would be surely too controversial given the circumstances.

And if Davey or Browne was promoted, which backbencher would be brought into the government? Probably Tom Brake.

 

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Staff at Exeter prison rumble plot by two artistic inmates who created fake brickwork to hide hole being dug through cell wall

Prison staff foiled an apparent attempted breakout in which inmates allegedly hacked through a wall and disguised the hole they had left with fake bricks made out of papier-mache.

Two inmates are said to have dug through the thick wall of a cell at Exeter prison and jammed the false, painted bricks into the gap to hide what they were doing.

Unfortunately for them, a guard spotted masonry dust on the ground, while another staff member saw that the brickwork on the exterior wall of the second floor did not look quite right – and the plot was rumbled.

Detective Constable Alex Bingham of Exeter police said: "We believe that two inmates may have orchestrated a move to one of the only cells that you could possibly dig from.

"They dug through the wall and used papier-mache to fill in where the mortar had fallen out. They have then used paint to paint over what they have done. If you did a visual check of the cell you would not have noticed it."

The men are thought to have gained access to the arts and crafts department, where they obtained paint and materials to make the papier-mache.

When the interior wall of the cell was inspected it was allegedly wet with paint and the bricks that had been removed were hidden under a bunk bed.

Even if the inmates had made it out they would still have had to negotiate a high wall topped with razor wire to complete their escape.

The two men, who have not been identified, were arrested and are being held at separate jails after being charged with attempting to escape lawful custody.

A former inmate of Exeter prison said he was not surprised at the attempt. The ex-prisoner, who served a sentence at the prison a decade ago, claimed the walls were in a bad condition and prison officers rarely carried out checks on the fabric of the building.

No one at the prison was available to comment.

 

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Anders Behring Breivik was standing with his hands held above his head in passive surrender when police finally caught up with him at end of his gun rampage.

One of the first officers to arrive on the island of Utoya, described the moment the mass murderer was arrested, saying that Breivik put up no resistance.
Haavard Gaasbakk said the 32-year-old had abandoned his weapons and was standing waiting for them as they ran through the woods to apprehend him following a rampage that claimed the lives of at least 68 people.
However, Anders Snortheimsmoen, the commander of the Norwegian Delta team of special counter-terror police, admitted that his officers nearly shot Breivik dead, despite his passive stance, because they feared he was wearing an explosive belt. The decision was made by a "very narrow margin," he said
Details of Breivik's surrender emerged as Norway's prime minister, Jens Stoltenberg, said an independent "22 July Commission" would be formed to investigate the attacks.
Norwegian police have been heavily criticised over the speed of their response to the Utoya shootings.

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