Lammy's calamity is deeply damaging to the government

Nowadays people do not seem to break out of prison, they seem to be let out by mistake.

- JOHN RENTOUL

Indeed, the job of justice secretary today seems to chiefly involve presiding over the farce of prisoners not only released when they weren’t meant to be, but also pleading to be rearrested. Such mistakes are inevitable. The test of the justice secretary is whether he can get the numbers down to the absolute minimum and look as if he is in control of the system. It is a test that David Lammy is failing.

As he stood in for Keir Starmer at Prime Minister's Questions on Wednesday, Lammy failed to answer questions about the release by mistake of a visa over-stayer awaiting deportation. It was said on his behalf later that he didn't want to comment on a case when all the facts were not known, but apparently he had a statement prepared and didn't use it.

As a result, he made himself look silly, as he ranted about the terrible state in which the Conservatives had left the prison system. And he handed a parliamentary victory to the opposition in the shape of James Cartlidge, the shadow cabinet minister chosen by Kemi Badenoch as her substitute for PMQs.