GB News host Ellie Costello tore into Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick today, after he delivered a scathing critique of Labour for the accidental prisoner release.

It emerged yesterday that two inmates were accidentally freed from HMP Wandsworth in London over the course of a single week, increasing scrutiny on Justice Secretary David Lammy.

The errors come only weeks after Hadush Kebatu, a migrant sex offender who crossed to the UK on a small boat, was accidentally released from HMP Chelmsford in Essex.

Speaking about the manhunt on GB News, Mr Jenrick said: “Well, yesterday it would have been more appropriate if David Lammy, the Justice Secretary, had turned up to Parliament wearing a bright red nose and a big pair of clown shoes than having to nick a poppy off a veteran who was sitting behind him in the House of Commons. This is a total and utter shambles.

“For the second time, no, the third time now in two weeks, convicted criminals have been let out of our prisons accidentally.

“Now the Metropolitan Police and Surrey Police are having to waste precious resources on manhunts because of massive failures by David Lammy and the Ministry of Justice.”

However, Ellie pointed out: “Unfortunately, though, this is nothing new, is it? I mean, it was happening under your Government.

“Back in 2022, 54 prisoners were released in error. In 2020, 2371 prisoners were released in error. In 2024, 487 prisoners were released in error. More and more every year.

“So this isn’t a new issue. And this was happening under your watch too?”

Mr Jenrick responded: “No, this is a new issue. Don’t get me wrong every single criminal released accidentally from our prisons is unacceptable. I don’t want to see a single criminal released this way.

“But something is going badly wrong, and the numbers are rising dramatically. Over the last ten years, it averaged about 50 criminals being released every year. Last year, it was 262, a 130 per cent increase in a single year.

“This has been a bad issue for a long time, but it has gotten much, much worse under this Labour Government.

“I don’t have all the answers, but it seems to me that the Labour Government’s decision to create this early release scheme, this ‘get out of jail free’ card for criminals, has been poorly planned and disastrously executed.

“It has led to a massive failure within the system, so that criminals are now being released left, right, and centre when they should never have been.

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“What we’ve got to do now is get a grip on this. I want to see David Lammy come forward and reassure us that checks are being put in place to ensure this doesn’t happen again.

“We cannot have dangerous sex offenders on the streets of our country, with the police having to rally around trying to find them.”

Brahim Kaddour-Cherif, an Algerian sex offender, was mistakenly released from HMP Wandsworth on October 29.

Just days later, convicted fraudster William Smith was also let out in error on November 3.

These blunders come only weeks after migrant sex offender Hadush Kebatu, who arrived in the UK on a small boat, was accidentally freed from HMP Chelmsford in Essex.

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