A Conservative Member of Parliament made a comical mistake by attempting to ask for an extra question during Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs) after exhausting his allotted number of questions. The incident caused amusement among fellow MPs as James Cartlidge sought the Speaker’s attention for another question despite already posing his six questions. David Lammy, the Deputy Prime Minister, humorously pointed out the error, comparing it to a previous incident involving another MP’s counting skills.
The confusion led to a brief interruption by the Speaker as the situation unfolded during the session. Eventually, it was clarified that Mr. Cartlidge had indeed asked his designated six questions, and there was no room for an additional one.
The exchange followed a heated debate where David Lammy urged his Conservative counterpart to take charge of the situation. Mr. Lammy, standing in for Keir Starmer, criticized Mr. Cartlidge, who was representing Kemi Badenoch, for not addressing concerns regarding mistaken releases of asylum seekers. The discussion focused on a specific case involving Hadush Kebatu, an Ethiopian sex offender, who was mistakenly released from prison, prompting a manhunt before being apprehended and deported.
During the back-and-forth, Mr. Cartlidge repeatedly pressed for assurances that no other asylum-seeking offenders had been erroneously released since the Kebatu incident. In response, Mr. Lammy emphasized his role as the Justice Secretary and acknowledged past challenges within the justice system. He also expressed regret for any distress caused by the situation and highlighted the need to address and rectify existing issues within the prison system.
The parliamentary session concluded with Mr. Lammy addressing the need for accountability and cooperation to address the challenges faced by the justice system, emphasizing the importance of rectifying past shortcomings for a better future.