In 2010 the coalition government earmarked the Youth Justice Board (YJB) for abolition as part of the "bonfire of the quangos".
Three years later, following a dramatic U-turn, not only is the YJB still in existence, but the very minister who put forward the case for its closure in the House of Lords is now at the helm of the organisation. It is a paradoxical situation that Tom McNally, who took over as chair of the YJB last month, is keen to "get out of the way" nearly as soon as the interview has begun.
"I don't think it takes a great deal of investigative journalism to see that I was never in favour of abolishing the YJB," the 71-year-old veteran politician, who once served as an adviser to Labour Prime Minister James Callaghan in the 1970s, offers unprompted.
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