Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy shirked issuing a statement to the Commons on the release of a second migrant criminal due to fears it would be “career suicide”.
Mr Lammy is understood to have had a statement prepared to deliver from the dispatch box upon the breaking of the box, but decided against it, allies have suggested.
The insiders suggest he was concerned about pre-empting a statement from the Metropolitan Police on the matter, per The Times.
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'I share the fury!' Minister defends Labours justice record amid 'unacceptable' chaos: 'I can't wave a magic wand and fix it!'
Referrals to Prevent scheme skyrocket over previous year
Worrying new figures have revealed that referrals to the Government's anti-extremism scheme, Prevent, have skyrocketed since 2024.
The Home Office confirmed that a record of 8,778 referrals of individuals were made in 2024/25.
It represented a 27 per cent rise on the previous year, according to the new data.
Ellie Costello rips into Robert Jenrick for prisoner release: 'This happened under your watch too!'
GB News's Ellie Costello rips into Robert Jenrick for prisoner release: 'This happened under your watch too!'
Robert Jenrick blasts ‘total and utter shambles’ after foreign criminals accidentally released
Robert Jenrick blasts ‘total and utter shambles’ after foreign criminals accidentally released
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Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick has blasted David Lammy and the Labour government after it emerged two more criminals had been released from prison accidentally.
“This is a total and utter shambles,” he told GB News, hitting out at the “third time in two weeks” the serious error had occurred.
“And now you’ve got the Metropolitan Police and Surrey Police wasting valuable resources on manhunts because of massive failures by David Lammy and the Ministry of Justice,” Mr Jenrick told The People’s Channel.
David Lammy ‘outraged and appalled’ over second foreign criminal mistakenly released
Justice Secretary and Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy has said he was “absolutely outraged and appalled by the mistaken release of a foreign criminal wanted by the police”.
He confirmed that “officials have been working through the night to take him back to prison”.
On Wednesday, it was revealed that police have launched a manhunt after a 24-year-old Algerian national was accidentally freed from HMP Wandsworth in south-west London on October 29.
The prisoner's mistaken release came just five days after Hadush Kebatu was wrongfully freed from HMP Chelmsford, sparking a two-day manhunt.
GB News has learned from the Ministry of Justice that Mr Lammy had been informed about the serious error overnight.
Sources have suggested he had avoided sharing details as information was still emerging about the “complicated” case involving multiple agencies.
Rachel Reeves told to slash tax hikes before next election if she breaks manifesto pledge
Chancellor Rachel Reeves has been warned that any tax hikes must soon be rescinded if she breaks a key Labour manifesto promise and further increases the tax burden on Britons.
On Tuesday, Ms Reeves opened the door to potential tax rises in a speech where she pledged to make “the choices necessary to deliver strong foundations for the economy” in response to an environment that had “thrown more challenges our way”.
The Tony Blair Institute for Global Change (TBI) said: “If the Chancellor opts for a larger revenue-raising step – particularly a manifesto-breaching increase in income tax or value-added tax (VAT) – she should make clear that it is temporary and conditional: a short-term measure to stabilise the public finances, not a permanent shift in direction.”
In their advice, the think tank told Ms Reeves that she must pair any tax rises must be linked with growth-promoting, pro-business reforms.
They then suggest the Chancellor should switch to “targeted tax cuts” ahead of the next election, “once growth strengthens and public service reforms deliver results”.
The institute also suggests reforms to immigration could risk damaging the UK’s flexible jobs market, urging ministers to keep the five-year route to permanent settlement for the skilled worker visa.
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