Jim Hacker once instructed Sir Humphrey Appleby to reduce the administration figures for the NHS, so Sir Humphrey reduced the figures. When told that the minister had meant him to reduce the actual number of administrators, Sir Humphrey expostulated "Well, Minister, I am not a mind reader".
John Reid is having a touch of the Sir Humphreys. (H/T Mr Eugenides
It seems that the way identity fraud is reported to the police has been changed. Now the bank customer reports it to the bank and the bank reports it to the police. If the bank is the victim, not the customer, then the number of instances of identity theft is dramatically reduced. One fraudster successfully impersonating 1,000 customers of the same bank was, in March, recorded as 1,000 cases of fraud. Today the same instance would be recorded as one case of fraud. A massive 99.9% reduction IN THE FIGURES.
Well, Dr Reid, when we asked you to reduce the crime figures, that is not what we meant. And, your mind reading status notwithstanding, you knew that.