Britain's prison system is facing unprecedented scrutiny after Shadow Foreign Secretary David Lammy joined cross-party demands for immediate government action following a series of security breaches at HMP Wandsworth.
Security Meltdown at London Prison
The crisis reached boiling point when Daniel Khalife, a 21-year-old former soldier accused of serious terrorism offences, managed to escape from the category B prison by strapping himself underneath a delivery van. This brazen escape has exposed what insiders describe as a system "on its knees" due to chronic understaffing and overcrowding.
Mr Lammy told the House of Commons: "We cannot continue with business as usual when our prisons cannot even contain those accused of the most serious crimes. The public deserves answers and immediate action."
Foreign National Offender Crisis Deepens
Compounding the security failures, it has emerged that dozens of foreign criminals scheduled for deportation have been released onto Britain's streets instead. Prison sources confirm that at least 40 foreign national offenders walked free from Wandsworth alone in recent months, despite being eligible for removal from the UK.
"This represents a catastrophic failure of both security and immigration policy," one senior prison officer revealed. "We're seeing dangerous individuals who should be deported instead being released into communities because the system can't cope."
Emergency Measures Demanded
The situation has prompted urgent calls for:
- Immediate security review at all category B prisons
- Emergency funding to address critical staff shortages
- Accelerated deportation processes for foreign offenders
- Parliamentary inquiry into prison management failures
Justice Secretary Alex Chalk faces mounting pressure to address what opposition MPs are calling "the worst prison security crisis in a generation." With Wandsworth operating at nearly 50% over capacity and staff numbers stretched to breaking point, experts warn more incidents are inevitable without radical intervention.
As the manhunt for Khalife continues and questions mount about how many other potentially dangerous individuals have been wrongly released, the government finds itself in a political firestorm that strikes at the heart of public safety and national security.
