Conservatives called 2024 election to ‘hoodwink’ public over prisons crisis, says Mahmood

The justice secretary has accused the last Conservative government, led by Rishi Sunak as prime minister, of seeking to “hoodwink” the public over the prisons crisis by calling the 2024 general election.

Sunak infamously called an election on this day, 22 May, last year on the steps of Downing Street as the then-PM was steadily soaked by a sudden downpour.

Shabana Mahmood told MPs that she believes Sunak opted to call the election “rather than confront” an imminent collapse of the prisons system.

Delivering a statement to the House of Commons, the justice secretary said she was “grateful” for the recommendations of the government-commissioned sentencing review, which reported today.

Mahmood said: “The independent sentencing review was published today. It was chaired by [Conservative former justice secretary] David Gauke. His panel comprised experts, including a former Lord Chief Justice and representatives from the police, prisons, probation and victims rights organisations.

“The government is grateful for its recommendations… and today I will set out our in-principle response. But first, it is essential that we set this review in its proper context.

“A year ago today, the party opposite called an election. They did so because they were confronted by the prospect of prisons about to collapse.”

She added: “Rather than confront their failure, they chose to hide it and hoodwink the public into re-electing them. It didn’t work, but their legacy lives on. It is shameful that in this day and age we are confronted by this crisis once more. The reasons are clear.

“The last government added just 500 places to our prison estate, while at the same time sentence lengths rose.”

In response, shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick said Mahmood had “lost her mind”, a comment that prompted a rebuke from the commons speaker.

He said: “Any government willing to do whatever it took could obviously find and build prison cells required to negate the need for these disastrous changes.

“If not prison, what’s the plan to punish these criminals and to keep the public safe? Well, the justice secretary says it’s digital prisons, as she puts it: ‘Prison outside of prison’. Words that leave most people in country to conclude the justice secretary is out of her mind.”

Politics.co.uk is the UK’s leading digital-only political website. Subscribe to our daily newsletter for all the latest news and analysis.