Zia Yusuf on migrant hotel blunder: 'The British state’s descent into a Monty Python sketch is complete'

A weekend fiasco has thrown Britain’s immigration and prison system into chaos after Hadush Kebatu, an asylum seeker jailed for sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl in Epping, was mistakenly released from Chelmsford prison. He was meant to be deported to Ethiopia but was freed in error, sparking a two-day manhunt before his recapture in North London. 

Justice Secretary David Lammy faced MPs over the blunder, unveiling new mandatory checks for every prison release, but governors warn it’s unworkable. Meanwhile, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has also been forced to respond as frustration grows over the Government’s handling of immigration and the spiralling cost of migrant hotels.

Tim is joined by Assistant Comment Editor Poppy Coburn to discuss Labour's latest headache, the collapse of Labour’s grooming gangs inquiry, and they're also joined by Reform UK’s head of policy, Zia Yusuf, for his take on both the prison fiasco and the controversy surrounding his own party MP Sarah Pochin, after she said adverts “full of black and Asian people” drive her mad.

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