James Cartlidge, the softly spoken Tory who mauled David Lammy at deputy prime minister's questions, is suddenly being hailed as the Conservatives' unlikely attack dog.

The polite, normally unassuming, silver-haired MP for Suffolk South was probably as surprised as anyone when Kemi Badenoch asked him to deputise for her at PMQs.

With the deputy prime minister standing in for Sir Keir Starmer, who's on his way to Brazil for the COP30 climate summit, the Tories kept everyone at Westminster guessing overnight about who would oppose Lammy.

Shadow Northern Ireland secretary Alex Burghart has been pretty impressive in the understudy role, so he was favourite. 

But shadow chancellor Sir Mel Stride and shadow home secretary Chris Philp have also been given a go.

But when the Conservatives let it be known at 9.30am that it would be none of the previous understudies but the little-known Cartlidge, there will have been many people scratching their head and asking: "Who?"

And since it was November 5, Guy Fawkes' Night, few MPs will have been expecting fireworks from the low-profile Cartlidge.

His questions were a slow burn, but eventually fizzed and - with his theatrical disclosure at the of PMQs revealing another prison release blunder - theatrically blew up in Mr Lammy's face.

Another question, though: given that Lammy is justice secretary as well as DPM, why wasn't Robert Jenrick, the shadow justice secretary who lampoons his opponent as "Calamity Lammy", given the job?

Well that's obvious! 

The Tory leader may be known to her critics as "Kemi-kaze", but she's not stupid and wasn't going to present her deadly leadership rival "Bobby J" with an open goal at PMQs.

Cartlidge has only been an MP since 2015. 

He was a comprehensive schoolboy before going to Manchester University and then founding a property business.

Once elected to the Commons, he was a parliamentary bag carrier for Rishi Sunak, Ben Wallace and Jeremy Hunt before being a whip, justice minister, Treasury minister and defence minister.

He's the son-in-law of right-winger Gerald Howarth, a colourful and controversial Margaret Thatcher devotee. A former defence minister, Howarth notably opposed the lifting of the ban on homosexuals in the military.

Cartlidge quit Boris Johnson's government in 2022 over the Chris Pincher scandal. 

But apart from that gesture, his career until now could probably be described – albeit harshly – as worthy but dull.

Until now, that is. 

MPs may have previously quoted the old joke that Cartlidge is not even a household name in his own home.

But as Lammy lost his temper under his persistent questioning about another asylum-seeking offender being accidentally released from prison, he kept his cool, doggedly asking the same question five times.

And after learning what we now know about the release by mistake of another prisoner, this time from Wandsworth prison in south-west London, the full impact of Cartlidge's triumph has become clear.

He's a Tory hero now. 

After PMQs, Badenoch praised him for doing "a superb job". 

He did indeed. 

The Conservatives have found a new attack dog.

By Tim Baker, political reporter

Nvidia boss Jensen Huang has told Paste BN the AI sector is a "long, long away" from a Big Short-style collapse.

Speaking outside Downing Street following a roundtable with government and other industry figures, the head of the world's first $5tn company defended his sector from criticism by investor Michael Burry.

Mr Burry and his firm, Scion Capital, gained notoriety for "shorting" - betting against - the US housing market ahead of the 2008 financial crash.

He was portrayed by Christian Bale in the 2015 film The Big Short, which also starred Steve Carell, Brad Pitt and Ryan Gosling.

Earlier this week, filings revealed Mr Burry has now bet against Nvidia and on social media, he has suggested there is a bubble in the sector.

Some $500bn was wiped off technology stocks overnight Tuesday into Wednesday, Bloomberg reported.

Could we see Justice Secretary David Lammy back in the Commons, talking to MPs about the foreign offender who's been wrongly released?

Conservative MPs are furious with the government, after Lammy (also the deputy PM) refused to answer whether this was the case five times, despite repeated questions from James Cartlidge.

Tory leader Kemi Badenoch's spokesperson has said Lammy should make a statement "as soon as possible".

Meanwhile, the Liberal Democrats have said the public deserve "a full explanation" and that he should come "back before parliament this afternoon".

It's also understood that Lammy learned overnight about the 24-year-old being wrongly released.

But he believed it would have been irresponsible to talk about the mistaken release of a second foreign prisoner while details were still emerging, it is understood. 

So, could Lammy either be dragged back to the chamber, or choose to make a statement?

In short, it's possible - but only if the justice secretary volunteers.

It's too late for MPs to demand an 'urgent question' on the issue, which is a parliamentary device used to summon a minister to the chamber to talk about a particular issue and to answer questions. 

MPs must request one of these from the Speaker two hours before the House begins sitting for the day.

That deadline has clearly passed, so he cannot be summoned back to the Commons today. 

Both the Commons and the Lords are also not sitting from this evening for several days, as they enter the autumn recess.

It means the next time MPs could ask the speaker for an urgent question would be on Tuesday morning.

What about if Lammy volunteers to come back to answer questions?

In theory, the justice secretary could make a statement to the Commons, before MPs rise for recess this evening.

So, it might be possible to hear from Lammy - but don't hold your breath.

David Lammy knew that a foreign offender had been mistakenly released from prison when he attended deputy PMQs, it is understood. 

The justice secretary was informed overnight about the development, Sky understands. 

But Lammy, also the deputy PM, felt it would be irresponsible for him to talk about the case while details were emerging.

This is why he declined to answer questions about whether a foreign offender had been accidentally released when pressed by the shadow defence secretary, James Cartlidge. 

In his statement, Lammy has also confirmed that the Metropolitan Police began to search for the 24-year-old Algerian man overnight, after they were informed by the Prison Service yesterday.

This was six days after the man was first let out of HMP Wandsworth, though it appears the Met was only informed yesterday.

The shadow defence secretary has asked David Lammy to say "when" he was "planning to tell the rest of us" about a foreign offender who was wrongly released from prison last week.

James Cartlidge pressed the deputy PM and justice secretary five times at DPMQs on whether there had been another "asylum seeker offender" that had been mistakenly released.

Lammy declined to answer, although he told Cartlidge to "get a grip".

Now it has been confirmed that a 24-year-old was released from HMP Wandsworth in error on 29 October, just five days after convicted paedophile Hadush Kebatu was mistakenly freed from HMP Chelmsford. 

Cartlidge has said: "David Lammy - Now that we know the answer to my question… Can you tell me when you knew and when you were planning to tell the rest of us?"

Lammy has since said he is "absolutely outraged and appalled by the mistaken release" and that the Metropolitan Police is leading "an urgent manhunt".

The Tories and Lib Dems have called on Justice Secretary David Lammy to return to the House of Commons to answer questions on the accidentally released foreign offender.

It comes after he dodged questions from the shadow defence secretary during deputy Prime Minister's Questions this lunchtime.

Tory leader Kemi Badenoch's spokesman told reporters: "I think he should a statement as soon as possible."

He added: "I think, given that he had five opportunities to tell the House and the public what the hell was going on and ducked those opportunities, he needs to come back to the House as soon as possible."

The Lib Dems' justice spokesperson Jess Brown-Fuller MP also joined the calls, saying: "This is yet another grave mistake from the government. The public deserves a full explanation about how this happened again. 

"This should start with David Lammy coming before parliament this afternoon for why he failed to answer this pressing question in PMQs as well as a full explanation of how it took almost a week for this to come to light."

She added that the situation "would be laughable if the situation weren't so dangerous".

Justice Secretary David Lammy has now issued a statement, following the mistaken release of yet another foreign offender from prison.

It follows sex offender Hadush Kebatu being wrongly released last month, before being recaptured and deported.

The deputy PM said: "I am absolutely outraged and appalled by the mistaken release of a foreign criminal wanted by the police. 

"The Metropolitan Police is leading an urgent manhunt, and my officials have been working through the night to take him back to prison.

"Victims deserve better and the public deserve answers. That is why I have already brought in the strongest checks ever to clamp down on such failures and ordered an independent investigation, led by Dame Lynne Owens to uncover what went wrong and address the rise in accidental releases which has persisted for too long.

"This latest incident exposes deeper flaws across the failing criminal justice system we inherited. 

"Dame Lynne Owens’ investigation will leave no stone unturned to identify these issues, so we can fix them, improve safeguards and ensure the public is properly protected."

It's understood that Lammy knew about the incident when he entered DPMQ's, but declined to answer the question when asked by the Shadow Defence Secretary James Cartridge.

It is worth noting, though, that the Tory politician asked Lammy about any "asylum seeker offenders" being wrongly released. 

It is understood the man who has been mistakenly let out is not an asylum seeker.

Nigel Farage has just reacted to the news that a second foreign offender has been wrongly released, and a manhunt is under way.

David Lammy was aware that a second foreign offender had been wrongly released when he stood in the Commons and refused to answer the question, Paste BN understands. 

Our national correspondent Tom Parmenter says: "I understand that David Lammy, the justice Secretary, did know about this release before he stood up in the Commons and was pressed on the issue by the Conservatives."

The deputy prime minister refused to answer five times about whether he knew of any other foreign national offenders being released.

It follows Hadush Kebatu being accidentally freed from prison last month, leading to a three-day manhunt in an embarrassment for the government.

Earlier this afternoon, a spokesperson for Number 10 said they were unaware of whether Lammy knew in advance of deputy PMQs. 

It is worth noting, though, that James Cartlidge asked Lammy about whether an "asylum seeker offender" has been wrongly released. 

But it is understood the man who has been mistakenly let out is not an asylum seeker.

The prime minister was not aware of the second foreign offender being wrongly released from prison until the Metropolitan Police issued a statement, Downing Street has suggested.

A Number 10 spokesperson told reporters: "The Met have released a statement, I think in the last few minutes."

They added that "one mistaken release is one too many" and that the case was "utterly unacceptable".

The spokesperson could not say when Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy became aware of the release, after he refused to answer multiple questions in the Chamber on whether another asylum-seeking offender had been mistakenly freed from prison since Hadush Kebatu.

Wrongful release is 'utterly unacceptable', says No. 10

The spokesperson also said the mistake was "utterly unacceptable", and sought to blame the Conservatives.

They said: "We have been very open about the chaos that this government has inherited. 

"The fact that jails were full to the point of capacity. Urgent action has been needed to do exactly that, to restore faith in the justice system.

"We've been very clear as well there is no overnight fix."

They continued: "We completely accept that this type of case is utterly unacceptable and needs to be dealt with, and the system needs to be reformed, and the appropriate checks need to be in place to stop this type of thing from ever happening.

"The public will rightly view any mistaken release of a prisoner from custody onto the streets as unacceptable.

"It's importance the police are given the time and space to bring him back into custody. And we will look into the circumstances behind this as a matter of urgency."

The case will also be investigated as part of a wider review being carried out by Dame Lynne Owens, the spokesperson added.