When All You Have Is A Hammer….

So, what’s the first thing you do when you create a Frankenstein’s monster of a government department, stitched together from several other government departments (and destined to perform as well as your last failed experiment in civil service vivisection)?

If you answered ‘Blow nearly £8 million on publicity’, then congratulations! You must work for the government:

The Home Office body has allocated large sums to its promotional budget despite growing concern about its failures to stem illegal immigration into Britain.

While other government departments and private sector companies are cutting jobs in the downturn, the agency is currently advertising for a range of roles in a new communications campaign team paying up to £56,000 a year.

Well, perhaps that’s Damian McBride and Dolly Draper sorted then…

Damian Green, the shadow immigration minister, called for more money to be invested in front-line officers rather than publicity.

"In a crisis you can guarantee that New Labour will put spin before substance," Mr Green said.

"So at a time when our borders are open, and confidence in the immigration system is low, what do they do? They spend millions on advertising, and increase the size of what they call the 'professional communications community'."

But of course! It’s all they know how to do…

It’s also the actions of rats ensuring that their fellows will be taken care of, now that they are forced to admit, even to themselves, that the ship is definitely sinking.