JUSTICE Secretary Chris Grayling has “blood on his hands” after the summer suicides of two probation officers and a convict’s murder of an ex-partner, probation union Napo general secretary Ian Lawrence said yesterday.

In an impassioned speech, Mr Lawrence blasted the government for splitting the probation service in two. 

High-risk offenders will still be dealt with by the state, but private “community rehabilitation companies” (CRCs) will deal with the rest.

Mr Lawrence stormed: “Since the split, we’ve seen two members take their lives and in one case there’s a clear empirical link.

“Grayling, you have blood on your hands.”

A Napo source explained that one of the union members who killed themselves had accused the Justice Secretary of “murdering the probation service.”

Other contributing factors to the deaths are not known.

An eerie silence and sombre faces filled the conference hall as Mr Lawrence continued: “One prisoner slipped through the net of the CRCs and murdered a former partner.”

And he said Napo, the Prison Officers Association (POA) and Unison would be taking joint legal action against Mr Grayling in the High Court.

“The man is a liar, he is unfit for purpose and he is the worst justice secretary in the history of this country.”

POA chairman Peter McParlin, seconding the motion, said: “The fundamental rights of UK citizens in relation to justice are under attack.

“Successive governments have gambled our justice.”

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) deadline for bids from privateers to run the CRCs was June 30, but the department has refused to disclose shortlists for the regional tenders.

Preferred bidders are likely to be announced later on in the autumn.

Unison delegate Carol Nobbs blasted the department’s handling of the Probation Service split.

“What has followed has been a catalogue of errors in terms of staff assignment, mismatch between workload, staffing levels and staff location, compromised risk management, reduced IT capability, increased bureaucracy and a huge rise in the use of temporary and sessional staff.”

In a subsequent debate, Napo delegate Yvonne Pattison called for the wider labour movement to launch a massive campaign against the privatisation of children’s services.

She said: “Children’s services should not be a lottery dependent on postcodes, and should never, ever be about making a profit.”

Both motions were passed unanimously by Congress.

And Mr Lawrence called on Mr Grayling’s Labour shadow Sadiq Khan to make his opposition to probation and justice reforms more vociferous.

“If you want an election winner, say what you mean,” he said.

“Pledge to reverse the changes when you come into office, it’s really that simple.”

The Samaritans can be contacted on (08457) 909-090. The website is samaritans.org.