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Boris Johnson has denied that cuts made to the probation system by the Conservatives were a mistake following the London Bridge terror attack.
Speaking on the Andrew Marr Show on the BBC, the Prime Minister and the host locked horns on a number of issues during a bad-tempered interview.
The Prime Minister said that the release of Usman Khan was down to law changes made in 2008 under former Labour prime minister Gordon Brown.
Khan, who was sent to prison in 2010 for terror offences, was released in 2018 automatically having served half of his 16-year sentence.
He had initially been given an indeterminate sentence, but this was overruled in 2012 following a judicial review.
In a fiery exchange, Mr Marr pushed the Prime Minister on whether cuts under the Conservative administration that took power in 2010 could have been a mistake, to which Mr Johnson replied: “No.”
He said that the Labour government left the economy “in ribbons” and claimed the Conservatives had “governed sensible and prudently”.
Mr Johnson added: “The reason this killer was out on the streets was because of automatic early release which was brought in by a lefty government.”
London Bridge terror attack | 29 November 2019
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Bystanders and police surrounding a person at the scene of an incident
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A white truck across part of London Bridge during incident on London Bridge
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Members of the police and emergency services arriving at Monument tube station following an incident on London Bridge
AFP via Getty Images
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A plain clothed police office holding a knife after police surrounded the suspect
PA
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Bystanders and police surrounding a person at the scene of an incident on London Bridge
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Bystanders and police surrounding a person at the scene of an incident on London Bridge
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Bystanders and police surrounding a person at the scene of an incident on London Bridge
PA
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A plain clothed police officer holding a knife after police surrounded the suspect
PA
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Police at the scene of an incident on London Bridge in central London
@ShashD via PA
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Police on London Bridge during an incident
@carl_isaksson
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Police instruct members of the public to move away from London Bridge and Borough Market,
PA
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A handout picture shows members of the police and emergency services setting up a cordon on London Bridge following an incident
AFP via Getty Images
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People fleeing from Borough Market, central London following a police incident
PA
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Police and emergency services at an incident on London Bridge
PA
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Mounted police patrol along Cannon Street
AFP via Getty Images
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A woman is assisted after falling when Police evacuated people from Borough Market on the south side of London Bridge
AP
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People heading away from the vicinity of Borough Market in London after police told them to leave the area following an incident on London Bridge
PA
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Police and emergency services at the scene of an incident on London Bridge in central London
PA
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People running away from Borough Market in London after police told them to leave the area
PA
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Police vehicles block the road in the Borough area at the south side of London Bridge in London
AP
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A police officer moves an uninvolved member of the public away from a cordon after an incident on London Bridge
PA
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An ambulance makes its way to the scene near Borough Market after reports of shots being fired on London Bridge
Getty Images
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People hurriedly leave the area after reports of shots being fired on London Bridge
Getty Images
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Armed police at the scene of an incident on London Bridge in central Londo
PA
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People are evacuated from London Bridge in central London following a police incident
PA
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Members of the public are held behind a police cordon near London Bridge train station after reports of shots being fired on London Bridge
Getty Images
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Members of the public are held behind a police cordon near London Bridge train station after reports of shots being fired on London Bridge
Getty Images
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Members of the public walk away from the scene near Borough Market after a number of people are believed to have been injured after a stabbing at London Bridge
Getty Images
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Traffic is stopped and members of the public are held behind a police cordon near Borough Market after reports of shots being fired on London Bridge
Getty Images
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Police Officer cordons off London Bridge Station following an incident
Getty Images
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Metropolitan Police Armed Response officers gather near Borough Market after reports of shots being fired on London Bridge
Getty Images
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Passengers are evacuated following an incident
Getty Images
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PA
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Bystanders and police surrounding a person at the scene of an incident
PA
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A white truck across part of London Bridge during incident on London Bridge
PA
3/33
Members of the police and emergency services arriving at Monument tube station following an incident on London Bridge
AFP via Getty Images
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A plain clothed police office holding a knife after police surrounded the suspect
PA
5/33
Bystanders and police surrounding a person at the scene of an incident on London Bridge
PA
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Bystanders and police surrounding a person at the scene of an incident on London Bridge
PA
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Bystanders and police surrounding a person at the scene of an incident on London Bridge
PA
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A plain clothed police officer holding a knife after police surrounded the suspect
PA
9/33
Police at the scene of an incident on London Bridge in central London
@ShashD via PA
10/33
Police on London Bridge during an incident
@carl_isaksson
11/33
Police instruct members of the public to move away from London Bridge and Borough Market,
PA
12/33
A handout picture shows members of the police and emergency services setting up a cordon on London Bridge following an incident
AFP via Getty Images
13/33
People fleeing from Borough Market, central London following a police incident
PA
14/33
Police and emergency services at an incident on London Bridge
PA
15/33
Mounted police patrol along Cannon Street
AFP via Getty Images
16/33
A woman is assisted after falling when Police evacuated people from Borough Market on the south side of London Bridge
AP
17/33
People heading away from the vicinity of Borough Market in London after police told them to leave the area following an incident on London Bridge
PA
18/33
Police and emergency services at the scene of an incident on London Bridge in central London
PA
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People running away from Borough Market in London after police told them to leave the area
PA
20/33
Police vehicles block the road in the Borough area at the south side of London Bridge in London
AP
21/33
A police officer moves an uninvolved member of the public away from a cordon after an incident on London Bridge
PA
22/33
An ambulance makes its way to the scene near Borough Market after reports of shots being fired on London Bridge
Getty Images
23/33
People hurriedly leave the area after reports of shots being fired on London Bridge
Getty Images
24/33
Armed police at the scene of an incident on London Bridge in central Londo
PA
25/33
People are evacuated from London Bridge in central London following a police incident
PA
26/33
Members of the public are held behind a police cordon near London Bridge train station after reports of shots being fired on London Bridge
Getty Images
27/33
Members of the public are held behind a police cordon near London Bridge train station after reports of shots being fired on London Bridge
Getty Images
28/33
Members of the public walk away from the scene near Borough Market after a number of people are believed to have been injured after a stabbing at London Bridge
Getty Images
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Traffic is stopped and members of the public are held behind a police cordon near Borough Market after reports of shots being fired on London Bridge
Getty Images
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Police Officer cordons off London Bridge Station following an incident
Getty Images
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Metropolitan Police Armed Response officers gather near Borough Market after reports of shots being fired on London Bridge
Getty Images
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Passengers are evacuated following an incident
Getty Images
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PA
Pressed on cuts to prison and probation services and the rising levels of assaults on staff during this time, he added: “That is why this new Conservative administration is putting £2.5 billion into our prison service.”
Asked why this has not happened under the last years of Conservative government, he added: “I’m a new Prime Minister, we take a different approach.”
Earlier on the same programme, Labour peer Baroness Chakrabarti has said it is “unedifying” to talk about “throwing away the keys”.
She said: “I personally think it’s too soon for any kind of blame game.
“What I will say is that supervision in prison and outside of prison is very resource intensive, and 40 per cent cuts do not stand with the idea that we want to monitor people and supervise them better.”
Jeremy Corbyn, the leader of the Labour party, had earlier appeared on Sophy Ridge on Sunday and said that terrorists should “not necessarily” serve the whole sentence handed down to them.
He said: “I think it depends on the circumstances and it depends on the sentence but crucially depends on what they’ve done in prison.
“I think there has to be an examination of how our prison services work and crucially what happens to them on release from prison.”