Return To Government
When Labour returned to power in early 1974, Jenkins was appointed Home Secretary for the second time. Earlier, he had been promised the treasury; however, Wilson later decided to appoint Denis Healey as Chancellor instead. Upon hearing from Bernard Donoughue that Wilson had reneged on his promise, Jenkins reacted angrily. Despite being on a public staircase, he is reported to have shouted 'You tell Harold Wilson he must bloody well come to see me ... and if he doesn't watch out, I won't join his bloody government ... This is typical of the bloody awful way Harold Wilson does things!'
Jenkins served from 1974 to 1976. In this period he undermined his previous liberal credentials to some extent by pushing through the controversial Prevention of Terrorism Act, which, among other things, extended the length of time suspects could be held in custody and instituted exclusion orders.
Read more about this topic: Roy Jenkins
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