TL;DR -UK Politics News
- Harriet Harman suggests that multiple mistaken prisoner releases could be an opportunity for David Lammy to address systemic issues within the justice department.
- Recent errors, including the wrongful release of migrant sex offender Brahim Kaddour-Cherif, highlight ongoing problems, with over 260 prisoners mistakenly released in the past year.
- Lammy faces criticism for his handling of the situation, particularly for failing to disclose knowledge of Kaddour-Cherif’s release during a crucial parliamentary session.
Mistaken prison releases ‘could be opportunity’ for justice secretary, Harriet Harman says
Multiple mistaken prisoner releases could actually be an “opportunity” for David Lammy, Harriet Harman has said.
Speaking on a podcast, the Labour peer said the release errors are a chance for the justice secretary to “roll up his sleeves” and sort out his department.
It emerged on Wednesday that two prisoners were wrongly freed from HMP Wandsworth last week. It follows the high-profile release of migrant sex offender Hadush Kebatu from HMP Chelmsford.
Baroness Harman said this has “shone a spotlight on a systemic problem which needs to be sorted out”.
Rather than become a “ding dong” between Labour and the Tories, she said: “I think ironically it’s a bit of an opportunity for him [Lammy] to actually be able to roll up his sleeves and insist the department gets the resources and the focus it needs to sort out this problem, which is not a new problem.”