"Allowed out of his office only under electronic tag for toilet breaks. We had been promised that Lammy would be giving a short interview to broadcasters some time on Thursday morning. Both to reassure us that he was still alive and possibly to update us on the two prisoners who had gone awol. Assuming he had any idea of what was going on."
"And not forgetting any others who had been mistakenly released in the past 24 hours. It's hard to keep an up-to-date checklist these days. But by lunchtime there was still no sign of the justice secretary. Not even a press release from the department to announce a new policy of accidentally jailing people. This could prove a lifesaver for the Labour government."
"It would be catnip to the rightwing media, and Robert Jenrick and Chris Philp would be kicking themselves for not having thought of it. And it would all be so simple. Just send round vans to pick up foreigners and then put them in prison for years for any unsolved crimes. What could go wrong? Fewer migrants and a reduction in the crime statistics. A double whammy."
David Lammy has been confined by civil servants and advisers inside the justice department under 15-minute observation watch, allowed out of his office only under an electronic tag for toilet breaks. A promised short broadcast interview on Thursday morning did not occur by midday. Two prisoners had escaped and other people had been mistakenly released within the preceding 24 hours. By lunchtime there was no departmental press release announcing a new policy of accidentally jailing people. Rightwing media and rival politicians were poised to exploit the situation. A grainy afternoon TikTok clip filmed by ITV showed Lammy appearing to be on the run.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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