Why doesn’t Lammy just bring in a new policy of accidentally jailing people?

‘It wasn’t until the afternoon that we had our first sighting of David – and while we had been waiting, one of the missing prisoners had handed himself in.’ Photograph: Jacob King/PA

It was a message of defiance. A show of strength from the justice department. The system may be in crisis but there was leadership at the very top. There was one prisoner who was most definitely not getting an accidental early release. And that was the justice secretary himself.

After his distinctly disastrous showing – he had the shadow defence secretary, James Cartlidge, to thank for it not being far worse – while standing in for Keir Starmer at prime minister’s questions, David Lammy has been kept banged up on 15-minute observation watch by civil servants and advisers inside the department. Allowed out of his office only under electronic tag for toilet breaks.