Liam Byrne replacing Hazel Blears, one of the highest-profile roles in the government outside the cabinet. However, just a fortnight later Home Secretary John Reid moved him to the immigration role, switching portfolios with Tony McNulty. McNulty had been connected with the foreign prisoners scandal that caused Tony Blair to sack Charles Clarke in May 2006. Byrne's move was seen as an attempt by Reid to establish an entirely new team to sort out the immigration system. During this period he was also Minister for the West Midlands. Gordon Brown named him Minister for the Cabinet Office in October 2008, replacing the
R (Venables and Thompson) v Home Secretary R (Venables and Thompson) v Home Secretary R (Venables and Thompson) v Home Secretary [1997] UKHL 25 is a UK constitutional law case, concerning the exercise of independent judgement in judicial review. Venables and Thompson claimed that the Home Secretary had unlawfully decided not to release them from prison, after they were convicted of murder as children. The Home Secretary took into account public petitions demanding the murderer be imprisoned for life. He refused to take account of their progress and development during detention. He increased the ‘tariff period’ from 10 to 15 years to delay release, and said they