David Lammy mocked for ‘ordering civil servants’ at the Ministry of Justice to call him ‘Deputy Prime Minister’
David Lammy has been ridiculed by both Labor and the Conservative Party for allegedly insisting that civil servants call him ‘Deputy Prime Minister’.
Mr Lammy, whose other main role is Minister of Justice, is alleged to have ordered Ministry of Justice (MoJ) staff to first use the title ‘DPM’. Sources close to Mr Lammy denied the claim.
But this comes amid reports that two prisoners who were mistakenly released in 2024 are still at large more than a year later.
The total number increased to four with the escape of two prisoners who were mistakenly released in June this year.
Last week Mr Lammy was widely criticized when he stood in for Sir Keir Starmer at Prime Minister’s Questions and failed to acknowledge that another migrant had been mistakenly released from prison.
He was also mocked for the excuse that he was not wearing a poppy and had bought a new suit just a few days before Remembrance Sunday.
And Tory justice spokesman Robert Jenrick said: ‘While Lammy is suit shopping and obsessing over his titles, dangerous prisoners are on the loose and endangering the public.
‘He should put his ego trips aside and focus on his work for once.
David Lammy, whose other main role is Minister of Justice, allegedly ordered Ministry of Justice (MoJ) staff to first use the title “DPM”
‘Calamity Lammy has no idea how many prisoners are on the run or where they are.’
A senior Labor MP said: ‘We all know that he was given this title as compensation for being demoted from the Foreign Office.
‘For the sake of the Labor Party, it is time for him to concentrate on his core job as Justice Secretary.’
Mr Lammy said he was ‘appalled by the rate of wrongful releases’ from prisons.
Algerian sex offender Brahim Kaddour-Cherif was finally re-arrested on Friday after being mistakenly released from HMP Wandsworth nine days ago.
The Ministry of Justice said: ‘The vast majority of offenders who are wrongfully released are brought back to prison quickly and we will do everything we can to work with the police to catch those few who are still in the community.
‘These cases further reveal the extent of the crisis in the prisons we inherited.
‘This will not be solved overnight, but we are using every tool possible to overcome these errors.’
