{"id":134749,"date":"2023-09-13T12:09:01","date_gmt":"2023-09-13T12:09:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/allmybiznews.com\/?p=134749"},"modified":"2023-09-13T12:09:01","modified_gmt":"2023-09-13T12:09:01","slug":"starmer-humiliated-as-pm-points-out-escapes-under-labour-were-10-times-higher","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/allmybiznews.com\/politics\/starmer-humiliated-as-pm-points-out-escapes-under-labour-were-10-times-higher\/","title":{"rendered":"Starmer humiliated as PM points out escapes under Labour were 10 times higher"},"content":{"rendered":"
Rishi Sunak left Sir Keir Starmer humiliated at Prime Minister’s Questions this lunchtime, after revealing prison escapes were ten times higher under the last Labour Government.<\/p>\n
The pair tussled over the escape of Daniel Khalife, with Sir Keir Starmer demanding to know why he had not been held in a Category A prison despite his terrorism charge.<\/p>\n
An exasperated Mr Sunak said he ‘shouldn’t have to explain’ to Sir Keir – a former Director of Public Prosecutions – that not all terrorism prisoners are kept in Category A prisons.<\/p>\n
He added: “The Honourable Member, with his background, should know better.<\/p>\n
“It is not, and has never been, the policy that they are all held in Category A prisons, something that he shouldn\u2019t need me to point out to him given his experience.\u201d<\/p>\n
READ MORE: <\/strong> HMP Wandsworth moves 40 inmates out of prison after Daniel Khalife escape<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Mr Sunak then dropped the bombshell that prison escapes were “nearly 10 times higher” under the last Labour government than the Conservatives.<\/p>\n \u201cI am happy to tell him that over the last few years we have delivered an extra 4000 new prison officers, staffing levels at Wandsworth in particular are up by 25 percent in the past six years. And because we\u2019re boosting prison pay, we\u2019re also improving retention,<\/p>\n Sir Keir accused the Prime Minister of trying to paint the picture that \u201ceverything is great and fine out there\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s so at odds with the lived experience in the real world.\u201d<\/p>\n Don’t miss… <\/strong> <\/p>\n We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you’ve consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. More info<\/p>\n The Labour leader also quoted the family of Zara Aleena, who said ministers have \u201cblood on their hands after probation failures that led to her murder\u201d.<\/p>\n He added: \u201cIt beggars belief that we\u2019re back here once again.”<\/p>\n Mr Sunak said he\u2019d like to reassure the public that while these cases are extremely rare, the Justice Secretary Alex Chalk has launched an investigation about how this could happen in order to prevent any future repeats.<\/p>\n The Labour leader also asked about \u201canother security issue\u201d, namely the recent news of a Tory aide arrested under suspicion of being a Chinese spy.<\/p>\n The man in his 20s was arrested in March, but the Government has continued to engage with China since.<\/p>\n The PM previously said he\u2019s raised \u201cthat type of activity\u201d with the Chinese, but Sir Keir asked whether the Foreign Secretary James Cleverly raised the specific case when he visited China a few weeks ago.<\/p>\n Mr Sunak said the Foreign Secretary \u201craised these issues with the Chinese foreign minister, as did I when I had my meeting with President Li over the weekend\u201d.<\/p>\n
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