As justice secretary and deputy PM, Lammy finds himself under double pressurepublished at 08:28 GMT
08:28 GMT
Henry Zeffman
Chief political correspondent
Image source, UK ParliamentDavid Lammy finds himself doubly pressured this morning.
As justice secretary, he has ultimate ministerial responsibility for the prison system in which just one institution accidentally released two new prisoners in only five days.
And as deputy prime minister, he was standing in at PMQs yesterday when he boasted about tough new checks designed to avoid accidental releases, but decided not to divulge information about these new cases even under repeated questioning from his Conservative opponent.
As a matter of political strategy, that is causing consternation in Labour ranks, where even some ministerial colleagues believe he should have been more candid. The government says this was not possible because Lammy did not yet have accurate information about “key details”.
Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme this morning, shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick said Lammy needed to “get a grip” and accused the government of a “dereliction of duty”.
Yet he also admitted the previous Conservative government’s record on prisons was “poor and unacceptable”, with dozens released from prison by mistake every year during their tenure too.
The government says that austerity means they inherited a prison system in a deep and multi-faceted crisis.
MPs do not return to the House of Commons until Tuesday but it feels unsustainable for Lammy not to speak in public about this before then.