IN the hope of combating homelessness among ex-prisoners and reducing the likelihood of them returning to crime, Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott plans to put these people at the front of the waiting list for council houses.

Notwithstanding the fact that there are plenty of empty council houses that no-one wants and lots more that local authorities cannot wait to offload on to the private sector in order to divest themselves of the headache of social housing, what is good or fair about permitting convicted criminals to jump the queue over people on the waiting list who stand to be penalised for having done nothing wrong? This high-minded plan of Mr Prescott's sounds wonderful on paper and will no doubt have the approval of the do-gooders who make a living from nannying projects for the aid the homeless and offenders, most of whom could solve all their problems themselves if they were prepared to do an honest day's work.

But the bitter reality is likely to be that people who have been mugged or burgled must wait longer for a council house than the people who mugged or burgled them.

Why is it that the victims of crime are always the losers in our society?

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