The escape of a terrorism suspect from Wandsworth prison epitomises how the government is failing in its “duty to keep people safe”, Labour has said, saying it comes in the context of other policy meltdowns such as crumbling concrete in schools.
After Daniel Khalife, 21 was charged with escaping custody a day after he was arrested, the focus has turned to wider issues of staffing and resources in the prison service and whether these played a role in his escape.
Alex Chalk, the justice secretary, said 40 of the 1,600 prisoners inside Wandsworth prison in south-west London had been moved to other prisons, and that the preliminary findings of an internal inquiry into the escape should be ready by the end of the week.
But in another sign of an election campaign likely to be focused on whether basic public services in the UK work properly after 13 years of Conservative rule, Labour accused Rishi Sunak of personally ignoring warnings in a series of areas.
As well as last week’s escape, and the thousands of students affected by unsafe concrete structures in schools, Labour highlighted reports of alleged Chinese spying in parliament to argue the Tory party had been “too busy sorting out its own drama at the expense of the British people”.
Jonathan Ashworth, the shadow paymaster general, said: “Rishi Sunak is failing in his first duty to keep people safe. Whether it’s ensuring schools are safe for children, keeping suspected terrorists off our street or preventing Chinese spies infiltrating parliament, the government is in chaos.
“The British people deserve better than this incompetent Conservative government.”
Paul Nowak, the TUC’s general secretary, is due to make a similar attack in his speech to the organisation’s annual conference in Liverpool on Monday.
“Nothing works in this country any more and no one in government cares. The Conservatives have broken Britain,” he is to say.
“They’ve had 13 years to sort out crumbling concrete in our schools. But five days before the new term they tell schools they can’t open.”
Khalife, who was arrested on Saturday morning on a towpath in Northolt, west London, was due to appear at Westminster magistrates court on Monday.
In a round of interviews on Sunday, Chalk said a full complement of staff were on duty when Khalife escaped the jail by strapping himself to the underside of a delivery van.
Asked if he had confidence in the prison’s governor, Katie Price, Chalk twice dodged the question, telling Sky News: “I’m absolutely confident in the senior leadership of the prison service to conduct a rigorous, searching and fair investigation.”
The Prison Officers’ Association has said the cramped Victorian jail, intended to hold 900 men, has about 70 prison officers on duty at any one time, amid a battle to recruit and retain staff.
Chalk said he had asked whether the correct number of staff were on duty at the prison kitchen where Khalife escaped, and if checks were in place – for example to look under vehicles leaving the site, and making headcounts when a vehicle had departed.
“Those protocols were in place, point one, and point two, the relevant security staff were also in place. What we have yet to establish is whether those protocols were followed,” he said.
Questioned why a terrorism suspect was held at a lower-security category B prison, Chalk said that while he could not discuss Khalife’s individual case, some terrorism remand prisoners were charged with offences such as possessing terror-related material, where the police and the prosecution accepted they had no terrorist ideology.
The transfer of 40 prisoners, slightly more than 2% of Wandsworth’s total, had been done “out of an abundance of caution” and to help with the inquiry, he said.
Charlie Taylor, the chief inspector of prisons, told the BBC that one significant issue for governors was the “extraordinary level of bureaucracy” they faced with regard to staffing.
He said: “It’s not just about the pipeline of people coming in. It’s also about the quality of people coming in. And the fact that many people are leaving the job after quite short periods of time.”
