Fresh pressure on Lammy over handling of jail fiasco

One of the prisoners mistakenly released from HMP Wandsworth handed himself in amid mounting pressure on David Lammy over his handling of the fiasco, as the hunt continues for a registered sex offender who is still at large.

- CAITLIN DOHERTY AMY-CLARE MARTIN

Billy Smith, 35, was pictured grinning yesterday morning as he gave himself up three days after being released in error, having been sentenced to 45 months for multiple fraud offences. Wearing a tracksuit, the criminal was filmed hugging his partner and enjoying a cigarette on the jail steps before turning himself in.

The latest blunders were blamed on clerical errors in a system under “relentless strain”.

Meanwhile, the justice secretary insisted he was “not equipped with all of the detail” when he appeared at PMQs on Wednesday and repeatedly failed to answer questions on whether there had been another mistaken release since Epping hotel migrant Hadush Kebatu was wrongly freed last month.

Speaking as builders broke ground at a new 1,700-cell prison in Leicester, Mr Lammy said: “I first found out about this on Wednesday morning. I was in the department, both learning from officials, but also preparing for Prime Minister’s Questions.

“At the despatch box, I did not have all of the detail. That detail was actually released just later, after I had finished at Prime Minister’s Questions. I took the judgement that it is important when updating the House and the country about serious matters like this, that you have all of the detail.

“I was not equipped with all of the detail. And the danger is that you end up misleading the House and the general public. So that is the judgement I took. I think it’s the right judgement.” His comments come despite journalists previously being informed that Mr Lammy had been told about the release overnight on Tuesday.

Prime minister Sir Keir Starmer defended Mr Lammy against criticism over his handling of the mistaken prisoner releases, saying it was “right” that the justice secretary was “setting out the facts to the best of his knowledge”.