Deputy Labour Leader Stirs The Pot Over Lammy's Handling Of Accidental Prisoner Release Row

Lucy Powell launched an attack on David Lammy while speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live todayLucy Powell has torn into deputy prime minister David Lammy for the way in which he handled the accidental release of further prisoners this week.The government is currently scrambling after Lammy refused to confirm an Algerian man, Brahim Kaddour-Cherif, had been accidentally let out of Wandsworth Prison on Wednesday afternoon in the Commons.He later confirmed the news and said he had even been briefed on it before prime minister’s questions.The incident happened just days after migrant sex offender, Hadush Kebatu, sparked a huge manhunt after he was also mistakenly freed.Lammy had promised to implement the “strongest” prison checks in the wake of that debacle – but Kaddour-Cherif’s release calls that into question.The incident has raised concerns over what exactly Lammy – who is also the justice secretary – knew, and when.Meanwhile, Powell, the new deputy Labour leader, seems to have already followed through on her promise to hold the government to account with her response to the scandal.Speaking to Matt Chorley on BBC Radio 5 Live on Thursday, she questioned why Lammy had ever implied he would be able to stop future accidental releases happening again.She said; “Giving the impression that no mistake would ever happen again is not the correct one.”She added: “I’m just saying perhaps the idea that a new system was immediately going to come into place was one that probably wasn’t the case, was it?”The Labour MP added that Lammy and his team probably could have “anticipated” the opposition’s line of questioning, especially as he had been briefed on the the prisoner release hours before.But Powell did admit that PMQs is a “learning curve” and it was the first time Lammy had covered for Keir Starmer.“You know, not very many people are really, really good at it from day one. It does kind of take experience as well as sort of, you know, a lot of preparation and ability,” she said.Powell then appeared to offer more of an olive branch, saying: “I’m sure that on his next outing, which I’m sure he will have fairly soon, you know, he will put all that learning into practice, I’m sure.”Powell was dramatically sacked from her government role as leader of the House of Commons in September in a ministerial reshuffle.She then campaigned to be Starmer’s second-in-command within the Labour Party, a role left vacant after Angela Rayner’s resignation and one which is chosen by the party members, not the government.Powell also took aim at the growing speculation that chancellor Rachel Reeveswill be hiking up incoming tax, national insurance and VAT in the Budget – despite promising not to in Labour’s 2024 manifesto.Powell said there’s “no question” the government should stick to its promises, adding: “Trust in politics is a key part of that because if we’re to take the country with us then they’ve got to trust us and that’s really important too.”Powell went on to poke another sore spot for the government – the Tory policy of the two-child benefit cap, which is still in place.She said it should be lifted “in full”, adding: “I think what we’ve all been talking about recently is the urgency of that now, because every year that passes with this policy in place, another 40,000 minimum children are pushed into deep levels of poverty as a result of it and that’s why it is urgent that we do lift it and we lift it in full.”Related...Lammy Defends Himself Amid Fallout Over Accidental Prisoner ReleasePressure Mounts On David Lammy Over Prisoner Release Row'A Shambles Of A Government': David Lammy Under Fire After Another Prisoner Accidentally Released

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Deputy Labour Leader Stirs The Pot Over Lammy's Handling Of Accidental Prisoner Release Row

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