WILLIAM Hague has every right to attack the Labour Government over its record on crime. Indeed, as leader of the Opposition, he would be failing in his duty if he didn't.

However, in London there is still a very sensitive murder investigation going on. As a serving police officer, I am not going to comment on the Damilola Taylor case, but I am very interested in the broader issues Mr Hague has been addressing.

One of his comments was that there would be more headline-grabbing murders if Labour were re-elected. This, I am afraid, is true. There will always be headline-grabbing murders no matter which party is in power. Stephen Lawrence and James Bulger were murdered under the Tories, but the Tories cannot be held directly responsible any more than Harold Macmillan's government can be blamed for Myra Hindley's actions.

Mr Hague has also blamed the Macpherson report into the Lawrence case for falling police morale. He may be right, but it is only one of the reasons, amid many others like pay, the problems of policing in an increasingly violent society and the management of the service.

To rank and file officers in the North-East, Macpherson is barely an issue. Like ordinary members of the public, they probably will not have read it, and will only have come into contact with it when their supervisory officers tell them how it is to be acted upon. In the North-East, the problems the Metropolitan Police has with stop-and-searches/checks are not a live issue. Neither, unlike the Met, do we have problems with racism or riots.

Someone or some organisation has clearly briefed Mr Hague, but sadly he has been given only half of the picture. As an insider, it feels as if Mr Hague is being used by lobbyists who want money thrown at the police - the same lobbyists who never admit there is anything wrong with the police but are always looking for someone to blame.

Of course, many police officers want higher pay and we all want more officers on the streets. But Mr Hague has done what the lobbyists advised him to and concentrated on Macpherson and its impact on morale and numbers. And so Mr Hague is missing the wider picture.

If we had a well-motivated, well-led and well-equipped police service, it would be more successful in the fight against crime. Mr Hague's comments have done very little to move the country closer to having a well-motivated, well-led and well-equipped police service. And that is a shame because, given the headlines he has generated in the last week, he had the chance to really forward the debate.

ANOTHER boxer lies dangerously ill in hospital, but boxing will never be made illegal.

I agree with Gus Robinson, the Hartlepool promoter, that boxing brings a great deal of good to society. If it were made illegal, it would go underground where there would be no consideration given to any safety requirements.

I am sure that very few corners would have been able to prevent Paul Ingle going out for the final round. No matter how badly beaten they are, most boxers I've come across know that the 12th round is their last chance to swing the fight with one punch. Pride drives them on.

The British Boxing Board of Control is being made the scapegoat here but, while I hope improvements are made, it should be applauded for recent advances. The treatment Ingle got ringside would not have been there even five years ago and almost certainly saved his life.

My two Christmas wishes are that Paul Ingle regains his health and the murderers of Damilola Taylor are caught.

My best wishes to you all over the holiday season.

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