Former leader of the Conservative Party Michael Howard has called for a full and independent inquiry into the Baby P case. Mr Howard was speaking at a private reception organised by Hornsey and Wood Green Conservative Association in Highgate on Tuesday ev

Former leader of the Conservative Party Michael Howard has called for a full and independent inquiry into the Baby P case.

Mr Howard was speaking at a private reception organised by Hornsey and Wood Green Conservative Association in Highgate on Tuesday evening.

The former Tory leader said: "When such a thing happens in a supposedly civilised city, in a supposedly civilised country in a supposedly civilised century you despair. I fully support David Cameron's call for a full and independent inquiry into what went on and who's responsible - we simply must get to the bottom of it," he said.

Mr Howard also warned that the recession will get worse before it gets better with significantly more people likely to lose their jobs and homes, and condemned Gordon Brown's plans to borrow more money to fund tax cuts.

"Government spending has run loose - we're now one of the most over-borrowed countries in the world. We need to stop borrowing money and start targeting waste in the public sector," he said.

And on knife crime, the former Home Secretary called for a greater police presence on the streets. "Police officers spend far too much time in offices filling out forms,'' he said. "Having officers on patrol is the surest way to reduce not just knife crime, but all crime.