THE British Home Secretary, Mr Jack Straw, left his junior minister to face the wrath of MPs yesterday, as a storm continued to rage over the disclosure of the names and addresses of police informants in the report of the Stephen Lawrence inquiry.
As one of those identified as having given the police vital information threatened to sue, Mr Straw was accused of discourtesy to the House, and the Home Office of "appalling mishandling" of the publication of the Macpherson report.
The shock discovery compounded government and police embarrassment at the disclosure that a surveillance camera allegedly guarding the Stephen Lawrence memorial, at the scene of his murder in Eltham, south-east London, contained either a dummy tape or no tape at all, and ended a week in which Mr Straw's reputation as the cabinet's "safe pair of hands" has been severely damaged.
Publication of the report was stopped dramatically on Thursday morning when it was discovered that, in a major error of judgment, the names and addresses of some 35 informants and witnesses who had given confidential information to the police during the original murder investigation had been published in an appendix to the official report.
The Home Office minister, Mr Paul Boateng, in an emergency statement to MPs acknowledged this was "a serious and regrettable error". He said he had spoken to Sir William Macpherson and "he has confirmed that the inquiry takes full responsibility for this error, and has expressed his deep regret".
But the Tory spokesman, Mr John Greenway, said the events of the past week had been appalling for the Home Office, with the leak of parts of the report, Mr Straw's injunction to try to halt that leak, and now the enforced withdrawal of the published document.
Mr Greenway argued that the Home Office had had plenty of time to spot the mistake, and told Mr Boateng that if he and Mr Straw had "paid more attention to what was in the report rather than trying to reverse the damage of a deliberate leak from within the Home Office . . . this sorry incident might never have happened."
The Conservative fire was drawn to some degree by the fact that Mr Straw, who is understood to be abroad for the weekend, had "squared" his absence in advance with Sir Norman Fowler, the shadow Home Secretary, and with the Speaker. The Liberal Democrats MP, Mrs Jackie Ballard, said, however: "Mr Straw's absence was discourteous to the House. It appeared he was using Paul Boateng as the fall guy. The man at the top has to carry the can."
She also said it was reprehensible that Sir William Macpherson should be allowed to carry the blame. And while she did not think it a resigning matter, Mrs Ballard did think Mr Straw should "say sorry".
And a Conservative MP, Mr David Maclean, said: "There should be a full statement in the Commons on Monday by Mr Straw, especially after Mr Boateng's arrogant refusal to accept any of the blame."
One of the informants named in the report, Mr Barry Nugent, said he and a number of others might sue for compensation over the amazing blunder. His identity had been accidentally disclosed during the inquiry itself, but he said yesterday that many of those affected would now be terrified.
And a number of those people were last night expressing fears that they would eventually be forced to move away from Eltham. One family living just yards from members of the gang suspected of Stephen Lawrence's racist murder immediately demanded police protection.
Another identified source said: "I cannot believe they have done this to us. How can I live here any more? They know who we are. I see them all the time. Scared? I'm petrified."
Meanwhile a steady stream of people yesterday visited the memorial, which was daubed with white paint only hours after Wednesday's publication of the inquiry report. The granite plaque marking the spot where Stephen Lawrence died six years ago was surrounded by fresh flowers and candles. One visitor, Hak Vehit, said the paint attack had been cowardly and outrageous.
Criticising the police inquiry, he said it was "chilling" to think the murderers had not been brought to justice. "It has got so big and out of proportion that people are genuinely frightened of the situation. I think the feeling is very strong at the moment, and although I hope it won't be the case, I fear there may be reprisals on the way."