Defence Secretary Wes Streeting and Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood have apologised after a video caught them joking about a new plan to release prisoners early. The video drew sharp criticism from victims' advocates and campaign groups.

The video was first published by the news website Guido Fawkes on 21 July 2026 (Guido Fawkes) and covered by The Guardian the following day (The Guardian).

In the video, Streeting calls the newly appointed Justice Secretary Alex Norris "the enemy now" and adds: "He wants to let them all out." Mahmood responds: "no he's not."

Both Streeting and Mahmood later apologised, each calling the early release plan a "serious issue." Streeting said he was just teasing the new justice secretary and that the joke referenced an old exchange between Theresa May and Ken Clarke, two politicians from an earlier era.

The timing makes this especially sensitive. The new early release scheme is set to begin freeing hundreds of prisoners from September 2026. The scheme does not exclude prisoners convicted of serious crimes, domestic abuse, or terrorism. That means even people convicted of violent or abusive offences could be released early, a detail that has worried people across the criminal justice system.

On 8 July 2026, the victims commissioner Claire Waxman and the domestic abuse commissioner issued a rare joint warning that the early release scheme would put abuse victims at risk. That warning came nearly two weeks before the video surfaced but now stands as a sharp backdrop to footage of two senior ministers appearing to treat the policy lightly.

Ciara Bergman, CEO of Rape Crisis England and Wales, said the early release of convicted rapists and criminals is "no laughing matter" for survivors. Jade Belgrove, a child rape survivor who waived her anonymity, said she was "furious they think our pain is a cheap joke."

The political situation adds another layer. Norris, who as justice secretary is responsible for carrying out the early release scheme, was the target of Streeting's joke even though they sit in the same government. Streeting calling Norris "the enemy now" points to tensions inside the cabinet. The defence secretary, home secretary, and justice secretary each have different responsibilities when it comes to sentencing, prison capacity, and public safety, and those roles do not always pull in the same direction.

Mahmood's reply was short but worth noting. As home secretary, she oversees policing and domestic abuse strategy, areas directly affected by the lack of exclusions in the scheme. Her correction of Streeting, however mild, put her on the opposite side of the joke from her defence counterpart.

The broader context here is one of mounting pressure on the government's sentencing reforms. The joint warning from two independent commissioners on 8 July was itself an unusually direct signal. It suggested that concerns about the scheme had already reached a level where official voices felt they had to speak out publicly. The hot-mic footage has now tangled those policy worries together with a story about ministers seeming not to care, making it harder for the government to keep the two issues apart in public debate.

Streeting's reference to a May/Clarke joke from an earlier era is worth pausing on. That exchange happened in a very different media landscape. Today, a leaked video clip can spread within hours, reaching victims' advocates and campaign groups who are already organised against the policy in question. The gap between a private joke and a public reckoning has almost disappeared. The apology came quickly, but it cannot undo that spread.

What is still unresolved is whether the political storm over the remarks will lead to any changes in the policy itself. The lack of exclusions for domestic abuse, terrorism, and serious crime offenders was flagged by the commissioners weeks before the video appeared. The government has not, based on the verified record, indicated any change to the scheme in response to either the commissioners' warning or the public outcry after the footage. The September 2026 start date still stands.