IF YOU think of almost any issue at the top of the Government’s agenda it is likely that one woman is in charge of it: policing, anti-social behaviour, anti-terrorism and, since Friday, Tony Blair’s commission on racial integration. Oh yes, and the small matter of running the Home Office while the Home Secretary is away at a time of increased national threat — it all falls to Hazel Blears.

That most of the political responsibility for Britain’s safety lies with one diminutive female has unsettled some who think, as Ms Blears puts it, “you can’t possibly do that, especially if you’re 4ft 11in”.

“In the world I now move in, more often than not every meeting I go to I’m surrounded by large men, whether in uniform or not, and that does not faze me for a moment,” she says, laughing.

The reason the Prime Minister has chosen the Home Office Minister of State for so many high-profile roles at the front of the fight against crime — from its most devastating form in the London terrorist attacks to the most petty — is, she believes, exactly because she does not conform to type. “I like to think that I’ve brought a bit more of an emphasis on relationships, on reassurance, on respect, that is how I do my politics,” she sa ys.

“I deal with the traditionally hard, tough issues — policing, enforcement — so balancing that with a real willingness to engage in the community is very powerful.”

It is with that in mind that she is determined that the Government’s “respect” agenda is not blown off course by the latest terrorist threat. It is more relevant now, she says, because the fightback against domestic terrorism can use a very similar carrot-and-stick model to ridding neighbourhoods of their worst yobs and nuisances.

“I think there is a very coherent narrative of how you tackle problems of security. Whether at a very low level with antisocial behaviour, a medium level of crime problems, or the top-level terrorist threat, there is a common thread,” she says.

Just as in areas blighted by antisocial behaviour, she believes that Asian communities want tougher measures against criminals in their midst, and need to have the confidence that police will support them if they shop extremists.

More than that, there have to be powerful incentives not to turn to crime in the first place. Part of her work will be in Asian communities, “drilling down into the reason for the disaffection — why are young people so angry?” Ms Blears is keen to direct existing programmes — such as those giving mentors to young people, or arranging for them to have a “gap year” experience — at deprived young Asians.

“The State can do so much, and we will have criminal offences, make prosecutions, lock people up and exclude people from this country, I am determined on that. But in the long term it is the people themselves,” she says.

“If someone says: do you want to get involved in extremist stuff, they say ‘no thanks, I’m busy getting qualifications at school, got a mentor helping me, this holds no attraction’.”

But is that not halfway towards blaming the segregation and poverty of some northern Asian communities for terrorism? “It can be a bit trite to say it’s poverty that leads to terrorism. I don’t think it does. That’s too simplistic. It’s like in the olds days saying unemployment led to crime,” she says.

“It is connected, which is why it is important to see what we can do about equality in jobs and education, but it’s not the whole story.”

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