A FORMER leading Home Office civil servant has accused Tony Blair and John Reid of failing to keep talented senior staff and trying to “buy off” the tabloid press.

Martin Narey said that it was clear from the Government’s repetition of tabloid headlines on a range of subjects that it had lost self-confidence and given up control of its own agenda. He also cautioned that there would be a loss of talented senior Home Office figures, and said that Charles Clarke should still be Home Secretary.

“There are some fine people in the Home Office. Never a week goes by without them ringing me to ask how I got out. There’s going to be a haemorrhaging of talent,” he said.

Mr Narey, who left the Home Office last year to run Barnardo’s, the children’s charity, also condemned Mr Reid for attacking his own department. Two weeks after becoming Home Secretary, Mr Reid declared to the Commons Home Affairs Select Committee that the Immigration and Nationality Directorate was “not fit for purpose”.

Mr Narey, who was Second Permanent Secretary in the Home Office under David Blunkett, said: “There are a lot of very talented, hard-working people in the Home Office. For them to be traduced for a soundbite was scandalous. You cannot go into an organisation and trash it.”

Mr Narey’s comments will come as an embarrassment to the Government. As chief executive of one of Britain’s biggest children’s charities, and someone who has spent much of his career in the upper echelons of the Civil Service, he speaks from a position of authority.

His comments were prompted by his unease about the Government’s attitude towards young people, and a desire to encourage public debate on the place of children in society.

Mr Narey said that he was particularly concerned about disclosures last month that Mr Reid was prepared to consider importing a version of “Megan’s law”, the US legislation that provides parents with information about paedophiles who have been released from prison into accommodation in their area.

Mr Reid’s decision followed a campaign by the News of the World for the introduction of “Sarah’s law”, named after eight-year-old Sarah Payne, who was murdered in 2000.

Child protection groups have cautioned that this could provoke vigilante attacks on the homes of released sex offenders, resulting in more children being abused by offenders who had been driven underground.

Mr Narey said the proposal was a sign that the Government had lost control of its own agenda.

“I think the Government has lost a lot of confidence and is trying to buy off the tabloid press,” he said.

“A shameful example of that is what John Reid has said about Megan’s law. He can be in no doubt about how dangerous that could be to young children. He added: “Home secretaries have to lead and mould public opinion, and not follow it.”

Mr Narey also said that Mr Clarke should have been allowed to stay as Home Secretary rather than being sacked over the foreign prisoner fiasco.

Mr Narey criticised the Prime Minister for his negative attitude towards children, in particular the Government’s use of words such as “yob” to describe them.

“I want to speak out about the demonisation of children, not just by the tabloid press, but by Government, including the Prime Minister, even though I am a huge fan of his.

“They are routinely using the words ‘yob’ and ‘feral’ to describe young people. Can you imagine applying that to any other minority? It’s unimaginable.

“We have convinced ourselves that we are the first generation to be troubled by children, but we are not. The problem is that we have become more intolerant of a lack of conformity.

“What I really hate are those signs you see in shops near schools ‘only two children at a time’. It is like saying that every child is a potential thief.

“We need to open up a debate on childhood. If you had politicians speaking more positively about young people, then they might get a better press,” he said.

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