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 Comment ‘The employment rights bill is good for business – but local authorities must drive the delivery’ As the Employment Rights Bill makes its way to becoming law, attention must now turn towards implementing it… John Batteson 28th October, 2025, 10:00 am Comment ‘This is Britain’s quiet emergency. We must act together to end it’ Britain is living through a quiet emergency. Fields are turning to dust after summer droughts, coastal towns are… Olivia Blake 28th October, 2025, 9:00 am Analysis Deputy leadership election: Why did the turnout appear so low? The headline result of Labour’s deputy leadership election was fairly straightforward. Lucy Powell won by a clear margin… James Moules 28th October, 2025, 6:00 am
Comment ‘The employment rights bill is good for business – but local authorities must drive the delivery’ As the Employment Rights Bill makes its way to becoming law, attention must now turn towards implementing it… John Batteson 28th October, 2025, 10:00 am
Comment ‘This is Britain’s quiet emergency. We must act together to end it’ Britain is living through a quiet emergency. Fields are turning to dust after summer droughts, coastal towns are… Olivia Blake 28th October, 2025, 9:00 am
Analysis Deputy leadership election: Why did the turnout appear so low? The headline result of Labour’s deputy leadership election was fairly straightforward. Lucy Powell won by a clear margin… James Moules 28th October, 2025, 6:00 am
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‘The employment rights bill is good for business – but local authorities must drive the delivery’
‘This is Britain’s quiet emergency. We must act together to end it’
Deputy leadership election: Why did the turnout appear so low?