Spyblog spots a classic piece of old-fashioned, plain vanilla incompetence.

Well, either that or the House of Lords Appointment Commission is really a front organisation for the security services…

The Home Office’s enthusiasm for missing their self-imposed deadlines seems to know no bounds.

Where is the six-monthly report on the cost of Identity Cards?

It’s a year and twenty days since the bill got royal assent (30 March), six months and 11 days since the last report. Given they are required by law to publish this report six-monthly, should we be calling the police…?

It’s been a peaceful fortnight for the Home Office. Barely a whisper of a scandal has crossed the threshold of Marsham Street - though parliament being in recess and not having to answer questions from MPs probably helped.

But perhaps it’s been a little too quiet.

Remember the foreign offences scandal? 27,500 files, detailing serious offences committed by British citizens abroad, were “lost” in the Home Office. Tackling that backlog and getting the offences noted on the Police National Computer was clearly the top priority. Such a high priority in fact that John Reid promised it would be completed in three months. His statement is here.

Three months was up, well, ages ago quite frankly, but not a peep from Dr Reid. Could they have missed a deadline? The Home Office? Surely not.