Defence Secretary Wes Streeting apologises for microphone remarks on prisoner release
Defence Secretary Wes Streeting has apologised after comments he made about the early release of prisoners were inadvertently picked up by a microphone, reports BritPanorama.
The remarks were made during a conversation with Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood and the new Justice Secretary Alex Norris on Tuesday. Streeting suggested to Mahmood that Norris was “the enemy now” and “wants to let them all out”, a statement overheard shortly after Streeting returned to Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s new Cabinet.
In a subsequent post on X, Streeting clarified that his comment was intended to reference a joke shared between former Conservative Prime Minister Theresa May and ex-Chancellor Kenneth Clarke. He expressed, “I hope everyone can see there was no ill intent behind this ribbing of the new Justice Secretary – it was a reference to an old May/Clarke joke.” He added, “But I appreciate these are very serious issues and am sorry for any offence inadvertently caused by this moment of levity.”
Mahmood echoed this sentiment, stating that there was “no ill intent” behind the “ribbing” of Norris. “I appreciate this is an extremely serious issue and do not want anyone to mistake this moment of levity for a lack of serious intent,” she wrote on X.
In contrast, Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch remarked on X, “While Andy Burnham’s cabinet are joking about letting criminals out of prison early, Conservatives are listening to victims and will continue to fight this disgusting policy.”
The new Sentencing Act, set to come into force in September, anticipates the early release of around 6,000 criminals under the early prison release scheme. Norris has faced calls to reconsider this plan, and when asked about the possibility of exempting rapists and child groomers, his spokesperson reiterated that the Government is “fully focused on keeping the public safe.”
“We’ve got no option but to take decisive action to fix the crisis in our prisons. I’m not going to get into speculation over possible policy changes,” the spokesperson added.
These comments come amidst growing concern from victims’ families, including the mother of police officer Andrew Harper, who expressed that it feels like an “insult” that two of her son’s killers may be eligible for early release. Harper, 28, sustained fatal injuries while responding to a quad bike theft in Sulhamstead, Berkshire, in August 2019. Jessie Cole and Albert Bowers, both 17 at the time of the incident, received 13 years in custody for manslaughter following a trial at the Old Bailey in 2020 and may potentially be released halfway through their sentences, as confirmed by the Ministry of Justice.
