A DECISION by the British Home Secretary, Mr Michael Howard, to release two convicted drug dealers from 18 year prison sentences, after one year, has been described as "unbelievable" and is being predicted as a return to the "supergrass" system first used in the 1970s to obtain vital information on criminals.
Details of the early release of John Haase (46) and Paul Bennett (32) emerged yesterday when the Home Office confirmed a report in the Observer that the men were no longer detained in a Liverpool jail and had, in fact, left the city to go on holiday.
The Home Office is understood to have brokered a deal with the men following their trial last year, whereby in exchange for turning Queen's evidence and providing customs officers with information about Turkish drug dealers, they would serve a fraction of their 18 year sentences.
The Labour Party's Home Affairs spokesman, Mr George Howarth, said the early releases were "surprising" since Judge David Lynch admitted at their trial that it was rare for the courts to deal with "somebody so high up the ladder, and it must be marked by a heavy sentence".
A retired trial judge, Judge Michael Argyle, yesterday said the "supergrass" system was comparable to "Judas Iscariot betraying Jesus Christ".
The actual length of sentence served by the two men contravenes the Home Office's guidelines for judges. The guidelines request a minimum of 14 years for dealing in more than 5 kg of heroin. In fact, the two men were part of a £15 million drug dealing group operating in Merseyside and were found carrying 87 kg of heroin when arrested by customs officers.
The arrangement between the Home Office and the former prisoners was not subject to an independent review process and was described as "unique" by a Home Office official.
The Labour MP for Garston, Liverpool, Mr Eddie Loyden, criticised the Home Office for failing to understand the city's drug problem and dismissed the theory of "using a sprat to catch a mackerel" as outdated. Mr Loyden said he could not understand the logic of the Home Secretary's decision. He said: "It doesn't give any indication and will not convince the people of Liverpool or any other city that the government is serious about stamping out drugs."
The decision was also criticised by the Conservative MP for Hayes, Mr Terry Dicks, who questioned the validity of a judicial system "which sentences people and then gives the Home Secretary the power to release them."
Mr Dicks added: "There can be no justification in the world for allowing two criminals like this to go free. I am beginning to wonder if there is anybody in this government doing what people want them to do."