By GB News (World News) | Created at 2025-03-28 14:30:55 | Updated at 2025-03-31 09:09:11
2 days ago
Barrister Steven Barrett has called for Prime Minister Keir Starmer to resign following the death of a man killed by a prisoner released under Labour's early release scheme.
Barrett claimed on GB News that Starmer is "directly responsible" for the death.
The incident involved a prisoner who killed someone on the same day he was freed from custody.
Barrett insisted the death was "directly attributable" to the Prime Minister's policies and actions.
Hours later, he participated in a "brutal" knife attack on Lewis Bell, a 26-year-old father-of-one.
Bell was hunted down "like prey" over a drug dispute, Teesside Crown Court heard.
Matthews and Ashton White, 18, were convicted of manslaughter, while Sean McLeod, 23, was found guilty of murder.
Matthews had previously been jailed for 22 months for violent disorder after kicking and stamping on someone in a street fight.
Steven Barrett joined Tom Harwood and Emily Carver on GB News to discuss the case
GB NEWS
Barrett dismissed claims that prison overcrowding justified the early release scheme.
"If we can create Nightingale hospitals overnight, we can create Nightingale prisons overnight," he told GB News.
When presenter Emily Carver suggested the Prime Minister would argue there simply wasn't enough space in prisons, Barrett responded: "Clearly tosh".
He insisted that if the government "desperately need to keep prisoners in custody", they could have found solutions similar to the emergency facilities created during the pandemic.
The Ministry of Justice defended the early release programme, saying the government "inherited prisons days from collapse".
An MoJ spokesman said: "Had that happened, the police would have been forced to stop making arrests, and the public would have been put at unconscionable risk."
"We had no choice but to introduce an emergency early release programme," they added.
The spokesman confirmed the case would be "investigated fully" as a "serious further offence".
Despite the scheme, internal forecasts predict prisons will be back at full capacity by early 2026.
Barrett drew parallels to Boris Johnson's premiership, saying: "If we can hold a prime minister responsible for parties by civil servants in Downing Street during lockdown that he didn't attend, then I'm afraid this Prime Minister has to be held responsible for this."
He added: "I've never known a sitting prime minister who we could directly link to a death."
The family of Lewis Bell said they were "devastated" to have lost a "much-loved father, son, brother and uncle".
The three men will be sentenced on June 19.
