Lord Timpson has defended the police, saying their work to recapture two prisoners on the run has been "incredible".

The prison minister was asked about confidence in policing as part of a debate in the House of Lords about the mistaken release of a convicted sex offender from HMP Wandsworth last month.

Brahim Kaddour-Cherif was accidentally freed on 29 October, and subsequently re-arrested on Friday. 

Meanwhile, convicted paedophile Hadush Kebatu was also mistakenly released from HMP Chelmsford last month, leading to a three-day manhunt. 

Both men were ultimately caught after members of the public spotted them in north London and alerted the police.

Asked about what this means for public confidence in the police, Timpson said: "One of the things that is clear to me is the incredible job that they do, and how well they link in with colleagues in the Ministry of Justice. 

"That is specifically the case on the day-to-day work they do in prisons."

He said he "often" sees police staff at prisons and pointed to their work aiding with probation, which he called an "overlooked" role.

"I think their support has been incredible [over the past few weeks] and I think we should be very proud to have them as public servants," Timpson added.

David Lammy was told about the mistaken release of an Algerian sex offender from HMP Wandsworth "first thing on Wednesday morning", a minister has said. 

Lord Timpson said both he and the justice secretary were informed that 24-year-old Brahim Kaddour-Cherif was on the run that morning, ahead of PMQs, where Lammy stepped in to deputise for the prime minister. 

But Lammy, who is also deputy PM, did not answer questions about whether another foreign offender had been mistakenly released from prison because he "quite rightly thought it was irresponsible to potentially give incorrect information to parliament," Timpson said. 

The prisons minister continued: "The information was changing rapidly, and the deputy prime minister didn't want to mislead parliament without all the details."

Lammy is under pressure to explain why he refused five times to confirm that Kaddour-Cherif had been accidentally freed, despite being aware of this before PMQs. 

The sex offender had actually been wrongly released the previous week, a full seven days beforehand. But the Prison Service only discovered their mistake on Tuesday lunchtime, at which point they informed the Metropolitan Police and a manhunt was launched. 

After four days, Kaddour-Cherif was found in Finsbury Park, London, and was re-arrested.

The prisons minister was also pushed by peers on when officials within the Ministry of Justice first learned of this mistake. 

He responded that he was "not aware of the exact details".

Timpson also confirmed that an independent review being carried out by former police officer Dame Lynne Owens into how another prison was wrongly freed will now also examine the Kaddour-Cherif case.

The minister said Owens has "already visiting prisons and speaking to staff".

He also defended prison staff who run the offender management unit, saying they are "amazing" and have to do an "incredibly difficult job with boxes of paperwork".

Lord Timpson has said the government has deployed a "digital rapid response unit to all prisons to modernise release processes".

The prisons minister is answering questions in the Lords, following the mistaken release of an Algerian sex offender on 29 October from HMP Wandsworth, which led to him being on the run for nine days. 

Brahim Kaddour-Cherif was subsequently re-arrested on Friday after being found in the Finsbury Park area of North London.

He has been returned to prison.

MPs are not sitting today, but will return to the Commons tomorrow, when they are expected to raise this issue again.

Speaking in the Lords, Timpson said the government has taken "immediate steps" following a number of high profile mistaken releases from prisons in England and Wales.

He said these include introducing stronger checks with "more direct senior accountability", launching an independent review into mistaken releases and the introduction of a "digital rapid response unit".

Currently, most prisons in England and Wales continue to rely on paper-based systems, including for releasing prisoners.

Another prisoner, convicted paedophile Hadush Kebatu, was accidentally freed from HMP Chelmsford last month due to "human error", the justice secretary has previously said. 

The introduction of digitalisation in prisons is designed to tackle this issue.

Timpson said this unit has visited HMP Wandsworth to look at the "opportunities for some quick fixes", alongside an AI team.

They have since suggested that an AI chatbot "would be really helpful" and also the introduction of cross-referencing for prisoners' aliases, as some offenders have more than 20 of these.

The unit has been given the "green light to get on with that", he added.

Rachel Reeves has all but admitted that she will raise taxes, breaching the Labour manifesto, at the autumn budget later this month. 

Speaking from her home in Number 11 Downing Street, the chancellor told the BBC that sticking with Labour's pledges not to raise income tax, VAT or national insurance on "working people" would "require things like deep cuts in capital spending".

It's the clearest indication yet that Reeves will go ahead with manifesto-busting tax rises on 26 November, though she insisted she hasn't "made final decision yet about measures in the Budget".

But what else did we learn about Reeves?

The chancellor recognised that people may have a lack of faith in her in the job because people "voted for change in the general election last year" and that change is "taking a while to come through".

She warned that the cost of living "is still too high", but placed blame on a series of external factors for why the UK faces challenging economic circumstances.

These included Brexit, "ongoing conflict around the world", increased defence spending, "disruption to global trade because of higher tariffs", and the impact of the previous Conservative governments.

Pushed if she takes any responsibility for her own actions, Reeves admitted she "did increase taxes on the wealthiest and also on businesses" and that will have had "consequences that will affect growth".

She also insisted she will not take "easy decisions" in the budget, but will do "what I believe is right for our country".

Reeves said she "absolutely get" why breaking Labour's manifesto commitments could damage trust in the government and in politicians more widely.

On a more personal level, we also learned that the chancellor plays the flute, but has currently lent her instrument to a colleague. 

Reeves also insisted she does not sing.

Asked how she unwinds, Reeves said she does the "usual parent stuff" like going to see fireworks on Bonfire Night.

But she also said she enjoys going running while listening to British R&B singer, Raye.

Rachel Reeves has suggested that she is open to scrapping the two-child benefits cap, saying children should not be "penalised" for being part of a large family.

Speaking to the BBC, the chancellor said: "Child poverty should not be tolerated.

"No child in this country should grow up in poverty, and that's why we've already started to take action on free school meals, on breakfast clubs, on extending the warm homes discount to more families, including more families with children, and we'll take further measures in the budget."

Pushed on the question, the chancellor said: "In the end, a child should not be penalised because their parents don’t have very much money

"Now, in many cases you might have a mum and a dad who were both in work, but perhaps one of them has developed a chronic illness, perhaps one of them has passed away. There are plenty of reasons why people make decisions to have three, four children, but then find themselves in difficult times.

"You will also have things like adoption or foster caring. Lots and lots of different reasons why families change shape and size over time, and I don't think that it's right that a child is penalised because they are in a bigger family through no fault of their own.

"So, we will take action on child poverty. The last Labour government proudly reduced child poverty, and we will reduce child poverty as well."

Scrapping the two-child cap has long been a demand from Labour MPs since the party entered government. However, polling from YouGov in July show that 59% of Britons - including 54% of Labour voters - want to see the cap remain in place.

With the news that a second deported small boat migrant has returned across the Channel, it is unsurprising to see Kemi Badenoch go studs up on the government. 

She has just posted on social media: "A SECOND migrant sent to France under Labour’s failing 'one-in-one-out' scheme is already back. Rinse-and-repeat chaos from a government with no backbone and no plan.

"Only the Conservatives have a plan to deport every illegal immigrant and secure our borders."

Joining in on the criticism, Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesperson Max Wilkinson MP said: "Once again, the Home Office has shown staggering levels of incompetence. 

"Labour - and the Conservatives before them - have failed to break the grip of the gangs and bring the numbers down. Failures like this show just how broken our system is. Enough is enough.

"Now is the time for Labour to back up their big promises with actions.

"They must stop hotels being used to house asylum seekers up and down the country and finally get this scheme functioning properly, using large-scale returns agreements with all safe countries so those who have a right to stay can start integrating and paying tax, and those who don't have a right to be here are swiftly returned."

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey has been speaking to broadcasters just now, and has launched a full-throated defence of the BBC, including against Donald Trump.

Asked for his thoughts on Nigel Farage claiming the corporation was guilty of election interference, Davey said: "I think it's far too extreme.

"The interference we've seen in elections has come from Nigel Farage, his friend Vladimir Putin. 

"We've seen Russian interference in the most profound, appalling ways. 

"And yet, Nigel Farage calls Vladimir Putin the world leader he most admires. 

"I think people need to see through Nigel Farage, see through Donald Trump, and realise what they're trying to do to our great country and our British values."

Asked if he is surprised he is the only political leader providing such a stalwart backing of the BBC, Davey said: "I'm slightly worried to be honest. 

"That's why I've written to Keir Starmer and Kemi Badenoch and Nigel Farage in the hope that they will back me to criticise Donald Trump for his attack on our BBC."

You can read more about the letter in our 11.42am post.

We've just been hearing from the prime minister's spokesperson at a Lobby briefing for political journalists.

As part of the questioning, Number 10 confirmed a second small boat migrant deported under Labour's one in, one out policy had crossed the Channel again to return to the UK for a second time.

The spokesperson said the person would be sent back again as soon as possible.

The government has claimed the system is working as the biometric checks they have introduced can spot people crossing for a second time.

A Home Office Spokesperson said: "Anyone looking to return to the UK after being removed under the UK-France agreement is wasting their time and money.

"This individual was detected by biometrics and detained immediately. His case will be expedited, and he will be returned to France as quickly as possible.

"The message is clear: if you try to return to the UK you will be sent back. We will do whatever it takes to scale up removals of illegal migrants and secure our borders."