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David Lammy Called to “get a grip” on prisons crisis Secretary of Justice There is constant pressure after two prisoners are accidentally jailed Released from London jail.
Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick told the BBC he had no confidence in Mr Lammy, and said at Prime Minister’s Questions this week the way the Deputy Prime Minister dealt with the matter was “disgraceful” and “Complete dereliction of duty”.
Police are working to track down 24-year-old Algerian national Brahim Kaddour-Cherif, who was mistakenly released from HMP Wandsworth a week earlier on October 29. They are also searching for another prisoner, 35-year-old Billy Smith, who was released by mistake from the same prison in south-west London on Monday (November 3).
Mr Lammy has come under criticism after failing to address the matter when standing for Sir keir starmer In the Commons on Wednesday, he repeatedly failed to tell MPs whether any other asylum seekers had been released from prison by mistake since the case of Epping hotel migrant Haddush Kebatu.
Kaddour-Chérif is not an asylum seeker.
Mr Jenrick told Radio 4 Today Programme: “It took six days for the prison service to discover and inform that this had happened metropolitan policeWe are now one week behind in the search for them. [Kaddour-Cherif],
“The Justice Secretary was then informed about this on Tuesday night, [and] Not clear. We are told he spent the next morning shopping for suits instead of taking charge of his department. Then he comes to Parliament and does not answer five questions directly about this.
“I think it’s outrageous. It’s a complete dereliction of duty.”
As PMQs were concluding, the story broke and a comment issued from Mr Lammy said he was “absolutely outraged” about Kaddoure-Chérif’s release.
Mr Lammy is understood to have been briefed on the matter on Tuesday night many times The report said he had a statement ready to read if the story came to light, but did not do so in the Commons for fear of the Metropolitan Police’s statement being rejected in advance.
But I am saying TodayMr Jenrick continued: “Can anyone today […] Trust David Lammy? Not me. does anyone? The Justice Secretary has to get a grip.”
Mr Lammy’s departmental colleague Alex Davies-Jones was flown out on Thursday morning to face media questions, telling the BBC the deputy PM was unavailable due to a long commitment.
Ms Davies-Jones told Sky News that she was “absolutely furious” about the release, and that she shares the public’s “anger and frustration” about the issue.
She told the broadcaster: “Any mistaken release from prison is unacceptable. That’s why we’re trying to get to the bottom of this.” He also said that a “crack team” of technical experts would be brought in to help “digitize” the systems within the prison service.
The Justice Ministry defended Mr Lammy in a statement on Wednesday night, saying that when he addressed the Commons on Wednesday “the facts were still emerging”, and he had “not been given accurate information about key details, including the offender’s immigration status”.
A spokesperson said: “The Deputy PM was asked questions about the release of an asylum seeker. As confirmed by the Home Office after the PMQs, the individual was not an asylum seeker. The Deputy PM waited until after the PMQs and further facts before making a statement.”
The chairman of the Justice Committee described the prisoners’ release as “extremely worrying” and said the cases point to “the broader justice system at the brink of collapse”.
Labour’s Andy Slaughter, who heads the cross-party group of MPs, said in a statement: “Reports that two prisoners have been ‘mistakenly released’ from HMP Wandsworth are extremely worrying, particularly following the high-profile release from HMP Chelmsford last month.
“Incidents such as this expose a wider justice system at the brink of collapse. The evidence taken by the Justice Committee has exposed a troubled prison system that has suffered from a lack of investment for many years, facing multifaceted pressures, including overcrowding and understaffing within a decaying prison estate characterized by lawlessness and instability.”
He said the committee visited Wandsworth Prison as part of its investigation into drugs in prisons, “and found an institution with many failings despite the best efforts of its staff”.
He added: “While the daily operation of prison security and public safety is paramount, the current situation of flawed releases will be repeated unless the underlying failures are addressed.”
Cadour-Chérif was serving a sentence in Wandsworth for trespass with intent to steal, but had also previously been convicted of indecent exposure. He was freed from the prison, which had been placed in special measures, on October 29 last year, but the mistake was only reported to the Metropolitan Police on Tuesday (November 4) this week, the force said.
The Algerian national is understood not to be an asylum seeker but is in the process of being deported after overstaying his visa.
Smith, who is from the Woking area, was released on Monday, and on the same day he was accidentally released, he was sentenced to 45 months for a number of fraud offences.