My first reaction is how did he not think that the question of "The right to go to work safely on the tube" would not be questioned in the light of the killing of Jean de Menezes?

Yes, that was fairly inept.

And then trying to pin all the blame on the media

Every authoritarian regime needs a whipping boy. The unions are a bit passé, Charles Clarke would have a tricky time blaming the Communists given his past associations and most other identifiable groups would cost Labour votes.