UK (Parliament Politics Magazine) – Deputy PM and Justice Secretary David Lammy expressed outrage over a second accidental prisoner release, citing systemic failures inherited from the Tories.
As reported by The Guardian, David Lammy said he is “absolutely outraged” after reports emerged that another prisoner escaped in London following Hadush Kebatu’s mistaken release.
What did David Lammy say about the accidental prisoner release?
Justice Secretary David Lammy said,
“I am absolutely outraged and appalled by the mistaken release of a foreign criminal wanted by the police. The Metropolitan police is leading an urgent manhunt, and my officials have been working through the night to take him back to prison.”
He stated,
“Victims deserve better and the public deserve answers. That is why I have already brought in the strongest checks ever to clamp down on such failures and ordered an independent investigation, led by Dame Lynne Owens to uncover what went wrong and address the rise in accidental releases which has persisted for too long.”
Mr Lammy added,
“This latest incident exposes deeper flaws across the failing criminal justice system we inherited. Dame Lynne Owens’ investigation will leave no stone unturned to identify these issues, so we can fix them, improve safeguards and ensure the public is properly protected.”
How did David Lammy respond to flaws in the criminal justice system?
Shadow Defence Secretary James Cartlidge asked David Lammy to confirm that no other asylum seekers had been accidentally released since Kebatu.
Mr Lammy responded,
“After his release I put in place the toughest checks we’ve ever had in the prison system. It is important that Lynne Owens is able to get to the bottom of her work. I suspect there will be more checks and balances that we need to do.”
Pressing the justice secretary further on the matter, Mr Cartlidge stated,
“He’s the justice secretary. He’s responsible for the justice system. He needs to take responsibility.”
He asked,
“And I’m going to repeat it once more for the avoidance of doubt, because he did not answer it twice. Can he reassure the House that since Kebatu was released, no other asylum-seeking offender has been accidentally let out of prison?”
The Deputy Prime Minister, visibly irritated, insisted he knew his responsibilities as Justice Secretary.
He said,
“We know that there have been spikes since 2021 under his watch. When did he come to this House and apologise?”
When asked again for a final time, Mr Lammy replied,
“I spent 14 years in opposition and I did a hell of a lot better than he’s just done. I have answered the question. Under their watch, prisons were in a mess. Suicides went up. Prison officer cut – 20,000 neighbourhood police lost.”
At the close of PMQs, Mr Cartlidge raised a point of order, noting reports of a second asylum seeker mistakenly freed from prison.
He added,
“The question is, Mr Speaker, can you advise on how I can ask the justice secretary whether he was aware of this when I asked him about it repeatedly in Prime Minister’s Questions.”
What did Number 10 say about the second accidental prisoner release?
Number 10 described the mistaken release of a further asylum-seeking defendant as “utterly unacceptable.”
A spokesperson said,
“We have been very open about the chaos that this government has inherited. The fact that jails were full to the point of capacity. Urgent action has been needed to do exactly that, to restore faith in the justice system. We’ve been very clear as well there is no overnight fix.”
The prime minister’s official spokesperson stated,
“We completely accept that this type of case is utterly unacceptable and needs to be dealt with, and the system needs to be reformed and the appropriate checks need to be in place to stop this type of thing from ever happening.
Downing Street added,
“The public will rightly view any mistaken release of a prisoner from custody on to the streets as unacceptable. It’s importance that the police are given the time and space to bring him back into custody. And we will look into the circumstances behind this as a matter of urgency.”
The spokesperson declined to say when David Lammy was informed of the accidental prisoner release, with Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer only notified after a Metropolitan Police statement.
What did Kemi Badenoch say about the latest prisoner release chaos?
Tory leader Kemi Badenoch missed PMQs today but criticized the government, calling it a “shambles.”
She posted on X, “@jcartlidgemp asked the Deputy PM FIVE times to tell us if ANOTHER migrant sex offender had been accidentally released from prison.
Instead of answering, Lammy lost his temper.”
Ms Badenoch added, “Now we read it HAS happened again & he’s been on the run for a week. This is a shambles of a govt.”
What did Lib Dems say David Lammy must explain over prisoner release?
Lib Dem justice spokesperson Jess Brown-Fuller says David Lammy should return to the Commons to explain the recent prisoner release.
She said,
“Just when you couldn’t think things could get any worse for the Ministry of Justice, somehow they have. It would be laughable if the situation weren’t so dangerous.”
Ms Brown-Fuller added,
“This is yet another grave mistake from the government. The public deserves a full explanation about how this has happened again. That should start with David Lammy coming back before parliament this afternoon for why he failed to answer this pressing question in PMQs as well as a full explanation of how it took almost a week for this to come to light.”
David Lammy defended Britain’s efforts to protect the country from foreign threats, responding to Liberal Democrat deputy leader Daisy Cooper.
Ms Cooper said,
“Putin is waging war on our continent and interfering in democracies across Europe.”
She added,
“The Chinese government is waging espionage against this House and Elon Musk is inciting violence on our streets. To date, the Government has failed to heed our calls for a new inquiry into Russian meddling, failed to place China on the enhanced tier of country threats, and failed to launch an MI5 investigation into the threat posed by Elon Musk.”
Ms Cooper continued,
“So can I ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what will it take for the government to act and protect our democracy?”
The Deputy Prime Minister responded,
“ As foreign secretary, I stood at this despatch box, and I spoke to the China audit that we said we would do in coming into Government, and we did that.”
He said,
“I did it on the same day that we published our national security strategy. And of course, my defence colleague has also published the strategic defense review.”
Mr Lammy added,
“She looks across all three of those documents, they set this country in the best place possible to face down the threats that she rightly refers to.”
What did David Lammy say about forgetting his poppy at PMQs?
David Lammy was handed a Remembrance poppy after forgetting to wear one at PMQs, receiving it partway through the session.
He told the Commons he forgot a poppy as he had bought a new suit for his first PMQs deputising, thanking Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson for lending one.
Mr Lammt explained, he
“bought a new suit this morning because my godmother said she would be watching… I am very grateful to the honourable member for Sunderland South for ensuring that despite wearing a new suit I have managed to put my poppy on.”
How was Kebatu mistakenly released from prison?
The release of Ketabu Habshu from prison by error raised serious concerns about the justice system.
He was wrongly classified as a prisoner eligible for release on licence instead of being sent to an immigration detention centre, leading to his accidental release from HMP Chelmsford.
Habshu was handed a discharge grant of £76 as if he had completed his sentence, reflecting a procedural error in prisoner categorization and release processes. After the manhunt, he was arrested again and deported.
How many asylum seekers are in the UK?”
A record total of 111,084 people claimed asylum in the UK in the year ending June 2025, which is 14% more than the previous year and 8% higher than the previous peak recorded in 2002.
The number of asylum seekers housed in hotels was estimated at 32,059 in mid-2025, which is lower than the peak of 56,000 recorded in late 2023.