18th November, 2011, 1:34 pm John Reid: I didn’t say “not fit for purpose” Share this article: John Reid’s tenure as Home Secretary is perhaps best known for his quote that the department was not “fit for purpose”. Except, he revealed last night, that he’d never actually said the phrase. Watch the video below: Tags: Immigration / John Reid / Home Office / Subscribe to our daily email More from LabourList Analysis ‘The politics of security – when ‘for the many’ politics becomes uncomfortable for Labour’ I will never forget something a Labour voter in a very safe Tory seat told me once soon… Emma Burnell 18th November, 2025, 3:07 pm News Asylum debate: Labour divisions laid bare as Mahmood stands her ground Shabana Mahmood came out fighting in the House of Commons yesterday after more than a dozen Labour MPs… James Moules 18th November, 2025, 2:37 pm News Asylum reform: Full list of MPs opposing government’s immigration proposals More than 20 Labour MPs have expressed criticism of the government’s radical reforms to Britain’s asylum system. Shabana… James Moules & Daniel Green 18th November, 2025, 2:30 pm
Analysis ‘The politics of security – when ‘for the many’ politics becomes uncomfortable for Labour’ I will never forget something a Labour voter in a very safe Tory seat told me once soon… Emma Burnell 18th November, 2025, 3:07 pm
News Asylum debate: Labour divisions laid bare as Mahmood stands her ground Shabana Mahmood came out fighting in the House of Commons yesterday after more than a dozen Labour MPs… James Moules 18th November, 2025, 2:37 pm
News Asylum reform: Full list of MPs opposing government’s immigration proposals More than 20 Labour MPs have expressed criticism of the government’s radical reforms to Britain’s asylum system. Shabana… James Moules & Daniel Green 18th November, 2025, 2:30 pm
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