'What are they playing at?!' Lee Anderson blasts Labour 'incompetence' amid 'cover up' of sex attacker's mistaken release

The Metropolitan Police has launched a manhunt for a 24-year-old Algerian man, named as Brahim Kaddour-Cherif, after being mistakenly released from HMP Wandsworth on October 29.

In a statement, the Justice Secretary said he was "outraged and appalled" at the accidental release, the second incident in a matter of weeks.

Delivering his verdict on the release on GB News, Mr Anderson said: "We're not shocked are we? Again, another sex monster prowling our streets, released early.

"They keep saying it's by accident, it's incompetence. What are they doing with these prisoners, giving them a set of keys? They're just walking up and walking out the jail."

He added: "Back in the day, you used to dig a tunnel to get out of prison or try and break out. Nowadays, it appears you just walk up to reception or a prison guard, and then you're on your bike, you're gone."

Highlighting the fear among Britons of the country becoming unsafe, the Reform MP fumed: "We're turning into a country now where it's not safe to walk our streets, and this country should never be like that.

"But when you see the incompetence, not just in the prison service, but at the highest level in Government as well, we saw David Lammy today at the despatch box. He was asked six times by James Cartlidge, has anybody been released by accident over the past week or so? He refused to answer."

Criticising the "weakness" of Mr Cartlidge's grilling of the Deputy Prime Minister on the incident, the Reform MP told GB News: "I thought James was a little bit weak at PMQs. The first the first question was great, the second question, he should have knocked him out with the second question and said, 'are you aware there is a prisoner now on the loose?' Then he's got him, and then he's got to start answering questions.

"He squirmed, but he got off the hook. And the only thing that James did right at the end of PMQs is raise a point of order, read off his phone, that actually we had got this sex monster on the loose somewhere in London."

As Martin highlighted that Mr Lammy "knew before PMQs" of the incident, Mr Anderson said that the Justice Secretary "should have made a statement" rather than avoiding Tory grilling.

Mr Anderson said: "He should have made a statement. There's no reason, I don't think, why he could not have made a brief statement before PMQs today, and that would that for him would have knocked it straight on the head.

"And basically we're sat here now talking about something that they knew had happened all along."

Asked by Martin how he feels Britons will be reacting to the incident, Mr Anderson concluded: "Nobody should feel unsafe in this country walking the streets or sat at home watching TV or whatever they're doing. But it just seems that this Government, they can blame the previous Government all they want, yes, they made mistakes, they made lots of mistakes.

"But they're in power. They've been in power for 18 months, and we've seen in the last two weeks two of these sex attackers just walk out of prison. I mean, what are we playing at?"