A terror attack on London bridge left two people dead on 29 November. Now the former chief prosecutor for North West England Nazir Afzal is saying that both Boris Johnson and home secretary Priti Patel are lying to us about the issues surrounding the tragedy.

The corporate media also seems to be falsely suggesting that Corbyn wants to release terrorists early from prison. But his answer on Sky‘s Sophy Ridge was a lot more detailed.

“Both lying to us”

Afzal felt he had a duty to speak up:

30 years working in criminal justice

Half that time at Chief Officer level

Having overseen prosecution of perhaps a million cases

Worked with dozens of ministers of all parties

I have never felt need to say this: This Prime Minister (& Home Secretary) are both lying to us#Marr — nazir afzal (@nazirafzal) December 1, 2019

Despite his party governing for nine years, Johnson spent his interview with Andrew Marr trying to blame Labour for the issues that may have led to the attack. Johnson’s lies include falsely claiming that a law introduced under Labour meant authorities had to release the offender early. In reality, the court of appeal made the decision and the law did not force them to.

In fact, Afzal had personally warned Johnson about letting radicalised prisoners go early without proper rehabilitation. Afzal said that the Tory leader:

asked me what keeps me awake at night and I told him it was this issue When he wanted to know what to do about it, I told him it was more resources for one-to-one deradicalisation.

In response, Afzal says Johnson dismissed concerns about funding

Austerity in prisons

Speaking about Labour’s policy, before Johnson went on Marr, Corbyn said:

We would… properly fund our prison services… secondly that there be a psychological assessment of somebody in his situation before they are released to see if they are a danger… to society… Our probation service – was half privatised – is not up to scratch.

Experts have widely condemned the Conservatives’ drastic cuts to prison services. This includes the underfunding of the rehabilitation process for prisoners. Research in 2016 established that 75% of UK inmates re-offend within nine years and over 39% within the first 12 months. Compare that to Norway – where the reoffending rate is just 20%.

Johnson “lying again”

But Johnson also failed to get even basic facts about the case right. He claimed judges sentenced Khan in 2010 when it happened in 2012. But perhaps his worse falsehood was Johnson lying that Corbyn wants to ‘disband MI5’. To make things worse, the BBC‘s Marr didn’t even challenge this blatant falsehood.

Boris Johnson lying again. Jeremy Corbyn does not want to disband MI5. We we committed to giving our security services the resources they need after a decade of cuts under the Tories. #Marr — Labour Press Team (@labourpress) December 1, 2019

Boris Johnson just produced his most brazen lie yet – inventing the claim that Corbyn supposedly wants to scrap MI5. Completely untrue. He’s never said any such thing. Absolutely no challenge whatsoever from #Marr. — Evolve Politics (@evolvepolitics) December 1, 2019

It goes beyond Johnson twisting the truth. And the former chief prosecutor’s comments highlight the gaps in Johnson’s version of events.

“Effective public services”

Corbyn, meanwhile, acknowledged the severity of this attack. On Sky, he said the police were right to shoot the attacker in this instance:

I think they had no choice. They were stuck with a situation where there was a credible threat of a bomb belt around his body… It’s an awful situation for any… public servant to be put in.

Corbyn also spoke about the matter further in York on 1 December:

"You can't keep people safe on the cheap. "Real security doesn’t only come from strong laws and intelligence, it comes also from effective public services that have the funding they need." – @jeremycorbyn, speaking in York. — Labour Press Team (@labourpress) December 1, 2019

We clearly need proper investment in our prison and probation services to stop tragedies like the London bridge attack happening again. Afzal, meanwhile, is right to step up and speak the truth. If Johnson cannot stop lying about an issue so serious, he should resign immediately. The man is not fit for high office.

Featured image via Boris Johnson/ WikiCommons