“He has tried to hoodwink the Cabinet, Parliament and the British people in his cover-up,” said the Liberal Democrat Shadow Foreign Secretary, Ed Davey.

Commenting on today’s appearance by Jack Straw at the Iraq Inquiry, Edward Davey said:

“Jack Straw has failed yet again to explain or apologise for his actions as Foreign Secretary in the run-up to the Iraq War.

“He showed no contrition for misleading Parliament over the nature of the legal advice. Nor did he show any regret for conspiring to prevent the Cabinet from seeing that advice, in contravention of the Ministerial Code.

“He has tried to hoodwink the Cabinet, Parliament and the British people in his cover-up.

“How can any judge or lawyer, let alone the British people, have confidence in the minister in charge of our legal system when he has apparently shown such reckless disregard for such sensitive matters?

“It is time for Jack Straw to consider his position as Secretary of State for Justice. He has breached the Ministerial Code and his case must now be considered by the Cabinet Secretary.”

“The Liberal Democrats will change the way the NHS works so that money goes further and patients come first,” said the Liberal Democrat Shadow Health Secretary, Norman Lamb.

Commenting on Number 10’s refusal to answer questions about the £63billion PFI bill facing the NHS, Norman Lamb, said:

“Labour’s scandalous mismanagement of the NHS has left many hospitals facing PFI bills they simply cannot afford.
 
“Gordon Brown’s speech contains even more spending commitments but he has yet to explain how on earth he intends to pay for the damage he’s already done to the future of the NHS.
 
“Despite the enormous amounts of money we owe for these hospitals, many of them will never end up in public ownership. Hospitals all over the country are mortgaged to the hilt and there are serious concerns that these repayments will lead to cuts in vital services.
 
“We need a new approach to public services in this country. By setting up an infrastructure bank the Liberal Democrats will ensure that key projects get access to the funding they need to revitalise our economy.
 
“The Liberal Democrats will change the way the NHS works so that money goes further and patients come first.”

“The Liberal Democrats will change the way the NHS works so that money goes further and patients come first,” said the Liberal Democrat Shadow Health Secretary, Norman Lamb.

Commenting on Number 10’s refusal to answer questions about the £63bn PFI bill facing the NHS, Norman Lamb, said:

“Labour’s scandalous mismanagement of the NHS has left many hospitals facing PFI bills they simply cannot afford.
 
“Gordon Brown’s speech contains even more spending commitments but he has yet to explain how on earth he intends to pay for the damage he’s already done to the future of the NHS.
 
“Despite the enormous amounts of money we owe for these hospitals, many of them will never end up in public ownership. Hospitals all over the country are mortgaged to the hilt and there are serious concerns that these repayments will lead to cuts in vital services.
 
“We need a new approach to public services in this country. By setting up an infrastructure bank the Liberal Democrats will ensure that key projects get access to the funding they need to revitalise our economy.
 
“The Liberal Democrats will change the way the NHS works so that money goes further and patients come first.”

“Liam Fox’s brand of neo-con, anti-European thinking puts ideology above the national interest,” said the Liberal Democrat Shadow Defence Secretary, Nick Harvey.

Commenting on Liam Fox’s call for the UK to fight alone, without allies, Nick Harvey said:

“These are desperately undiplomatic comments on the eve of a major allied operation in Afghanistan.

“Liam Fox’s brand of neo-con, anti-European thinking puts ideology above the national interest.

“His views on defence look hopelessly unrealistic when he refuses to say where the money will come from. Just like Labour, the Tories’ refusal to consider the renewal of Trident in a future defence review makes a mockery of the whole process.”

“We need to restore immediate control of our borders,” said the Liberal Democrat Shadow Home Secretary, Chris Huhne.

 Commenting on today’s announcement by Alan Johnson on the student visa system, Chris Huhne said:

“The biggest hole in the student visa system is caused by the Tory and Labour abolition of exit checks, which means we do not know if someone has left once their visa runs out.

“We need to restore immediate control of our borders.”

“Voters deserve a real choice – between the discredited status quo and a system where every vote matters and there are no safe seats,” said the Liberal Democrat Shadow Justice Secretary, David Howarth.

The Liberal Democrats have tabled amendments to the Government’s proposals for a referendum on electoral reform that would:

• Offer voters a real choice between first-past-the-post and a truly proportional system (Single Transferable Vote), rather than AV
• Bring forward the date of the referendum to next May
• Close a loophole allowing the next Government to kill the proposals without an Act of Parliament

Commenting, David Howarth said:

“Voters deserve a real choice – between the discredited status quo and a system where every vote matters and there are no safe seats.
 
“The Alternative Vote system is a very small step in the right direction, but it is not proportional and it does not give voters enough power over the party and the person elected as MP.
 
“It is also unacceptable that Labour’s amendments would make it childishly easy for the next Government to kill a referendum without further legislation.

“By acting purely out of naked self-interest, the Conservative Party has long been a roadblock to electoral reform.
 
“It would be far too easy for them to abandon a referendum if they win an election, which is why the Liberal Democrats have taken steps to Tory-proof the Bill.”

“With only months until an election must be called this reeks of yet another desperate pre-election bribe by Labour,” said the Liberal Democrat Shadow Health Secretary, Norman Lamb.

Commenting on Gordon Brown’s announcement that 1.6 million people who have or have had cancer are to be offered free one-to-one care in their homes, Norman Lamb said:

“No one denies that cancer suffers deserve the best possible care and that this is an attractive proposition, but the obvious question is has it been properly thought through and how exactly will it be funded?

“With only months until an election must be called this reeks of yet another desperate pre-election bribe by Labour.”

“This survey shows that teachers need a lot more advice and clearer guidance in dealing with violence in the classroom,” said the Liberal Democrat Shadow Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families, David Laws.

Commenting on a survey by The Association of Teachers and Lecturers showing that nearly half of new teachers asked felt they have not had enough training to deal with violence in the classroom and that almost two-thirds felt they had received no clear guidance on restraining violent students, David Laws said:

“This survey shows that teachers need a lot more advice and clearer guidance in dealing with violence in the classroom. This is particularly important because this government is bringing in a raft of new laws which will make it even more bureaucratic for teachers to break up fights and will require parents to be notified whenever force is used.

“There is a risk that if teachers are both untrained and concerned about the consequences of taking action to prevent violence, then they will be tempted to stand back rather than intervene to maintain a safe and well ordered environment.”

“The housing shortage is one of the biggest crises facing Britain today and tackling it must be a priority of any future government,” said the Liberal Democrat Shadow Housing Minister, Sarah Teather.

Commenting on a report by the National Housing Federation which finds that the number of new homes being built this year will fall to its lowest level since 1923, Sarah Teather said:.

“This is the legacy of decades of underinvestment and neglect by consecutive Tory and Labour Governments which today means people who have been hardest hit by the recession are struggling most to access affordable housing.

“The housing shortage is one of the biggest crises facing Britain today and tackling it must be a priority of any future government. That is why Liberal Democrats would bring hundreds of thousands of empty homes back into use, as well as empower local councils to borrow against their assets and finance necessary investment in housing in their area.”

Official figures from the Ministry of Justice show that more than a quarter of criminals sentenced by the courts have committed crimes on least 15 previous occasions, compared to 17% ten years ago, and the majority of these serial offenders are still not jailed after carrying out a further offence.

Out of 325,616 criminals sentenced at Crown Court in 2008, the most recent year available, 28% had a criminal history running to at least 15 previous convictions or cautions, compared to the figure for 2000 which was 17%.

Another 10% had committed between 11 and 14 previous crimes and overall, 75% had carried out an offence on at least three occasions before the new crime and more than 50% of those sentenced had committed a previous crime in the last 12 months.

In spite of  the growing problem, only 40% of those with long criminal records were jailed for their new offence in 2008, which meant that more than 73,000 serial criminals left the court with a fine, community sentence, discharge or suspended sentence after committing another crime.

Chris Huhne, the Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman, said:

“The growing proportion of serial offenders is a clear indication of Labour’s abject failure to get a grip on persistent criminals.

“An ever expanding prison estate with revolving doors is doing nothing to cut sky re-offending rates among hardened lawbreakers.

“Criminal justice policy in this country has to be moved away from posturing on penalties to what works to cut crime.”

The figures do not give details of the previous offences but 20% of violent criminals, 38% of burglars and 17% of robbers had at least 15 previous convictions or cautions for other offences.

The Sentencing Statistics also showed that 15% of juveniles sent to custody in 2008 had been in detention on at least three previous occasions, which was double the figure for 2000.

Overall, 6,487 ten to 17-year-olds were given immediate custody in 2008, 4% less than the previous year.

Joyce Moseley, chief executive of Catch22, a charity working with young people, said:

“There will always be cases where custody is appropriate and we welcome the falling numbers of young people going to prison for the first time.

“However, we are seeing a higher proportion of young people who have received previous prison sentences. This indicates a serious lack of successful resettlement services to help these young people turn their lives around and get back on track.”