THE most important function of any Government is to ensure the safety of its citizens.

So perhaps the most damning indictment we have heard of the current Government has come from the Prime Minister himself earlier this week. It is a quote worth repeating in full.

Mr Blair said: "I think what people want is a society without prejudice but with rules - rules that are fair, rules that we all play by and rules that if they are broken, carry a penalty.

"The truth is that most people don't believe we live in such a society today."

I'm sure that when Mr Blair stood on the doorstep of Number 10 after that famous 1997 election victory he was determined to be tough on crime and tough on the causes of crime.

But the fact that, nine years on, the Prime Minister himself accepts the failure of his own efforts illustrates how deep rooted the problem is.

I firmly believe the Prime Minister is a good man with the interests of all people at heart. The problem is that he has become cocooned in a world where he is surrounded by sycophants and Yes Minister style civil servants.

Instead of mixing with real people he has become wrapped up in the Westminster village of bureaucrats, civil libertarians and the London-centric New Labour chattering classes. To use a local example, in Middlesbrough - with the backing of the local Labour group - we introduced a robust style of street warden who have been judged the best in the country and succeeded in ridding the town centre of aggressive beggars.

Why did the Government not cut through all the red tape and instruct every council to do the same? I have read of a beat bobby in another part of the country who through determination, intervention and a few arrests, has single handedly freed an estate from the clutches of anti-social yobs.

Why has the Prime Minister not ordered every single police officer to follow suit?

I believe I know the answer.

The Prime Minister recognises what is needed but there is a vast blockage of red tape and petty mindedness between launch and implementation and unfortunately, his ministers have not been up to the job of driving words into actions.

We do not need any more laws in this country. Police officers do not need any more powers. What we do need is a Government to ensure that once the flash bulbs have stopped clicking at the glitzy launches, the tough talk is turned into action on the streets. Last year I spoke out in anger when it was suggested the priority of police officers about to embark on a series of raids should be the civil rights of the offenders. I was lambasted by Liberty, some foolish politicians and other opportunists.

The result of this misguided attitude is that we now have serious criminals at large who should have been deported; convicted burglars, muggers and even kidnappers avoiding jail and yobs creating no go areas in towns and cities across Britain.

This week as the Prime Minister talks about the need for a "profound rebalancing" of the Civil Liberties Act, it gives me no pleasure to say I told you so. I'm pleased that at last the Government has woken up to the real world, my hope is that this is not just another load of froth.

I want to see Mr Blair and whoever succeeds him take personal responsibility for law and order. There is no greater priority than ensuring we make the streets safe for the law abiding citizens of this country.