Offender body chief lights up dark side

The new head of the National Offender Management Service showed her sense of humour last week when she was accused of “going over to the dark side” from her previous job as head of rehabilitation charity Nacro.

Responding to the quip by broadcaster Emma Freud at a Howard League conference, Helen Edwards, the service’s acting interim chief executive, said: “As Darth Vader I will take your message back.”

Edwards, who replaced Martin Narey, also led the Home Office’s active communities unit. The Home Office said Edwards, who had been tipped to get Narey’s job (news, 27 October), was brought in after it failed to find a suitable candidate.