Beleaguered Clarke hit by Home Office accounts blow

As Charles Clarke waited to hear if he would keep his job as home secretary, his department continued to struggle with its accounts after it emerged that they could be qualified for the second year running.

The warning came from Sir David Normington, the Home Office permanent secretary, who told the Commons Public Accounts Committee that flaws found last year, would take time to rectify.

‘It is very hard to ensure we can provide proper accounts for 2005-06,’ he told MPs at the meeting last week.