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The justice secretary and deputy prime minister has hailed the work of the Association of Jewish Ex-Servicemen and Women (Ajex) and confirmed that a defence minister will lay a wreath at their ceremony, also held at the Cenotaph, next Sunday. Deputising for Sir Keir Starmer at PMQs on Wednesday, David Lammy was asked by Harrow East MP Bob Blackman whether a government minister would attend Ajex’s parade, held the weekend after Remembrance Sunday. The chair of the Conservative Party’s influential 1922 committee – who was sporting both a poppy and a marigold “to honour the Commonwealth troops that gave their lives” – said that given the rise in antisemitism across the UK it would be particularly important “that a senior cabinet minister comes to that parade and lays a wreath on behalf of this house and the whole country to remember the Jewish people that gave their lives for this country so we can all be free”. Lammy confirmed that defence minister, Lord Coaker, would be representing the government at the Ajex parade and that he would be “proud to lay a wreath at the annual remembrance event in the Cenotaph to mark our enduring gratitude to generations of Jewish service personnel and veterans”. He continued: “I'd like to thank Ajex for organising the event and for all they do throughout the year to keep alive the memory of Jewish people, many of whom are in my constituency, the descendants in my constituency in Stamford Hill, who gave their lives for this country.” However, Lammy appeared at the start of the session without a poppy, leading to some criticism from MPs. Conservative Party chair Kevin Hollinrake posted on X: “Disgrace that David Lammy, the deputy prime minister of this nation and standing in for the prime minister at PMQs, is not wearing a poppy.” Lammy affixed one to his lapel mid-way through the session, suggesting he didn’t initially because he had bought a new suit. Spot the difference, poppy edition... pic.twitter.com/RlwlQidsPd — Tom Harwood (@tomhfh) November 5, 2025 In his reply to Blackman’s comments about the sacrifice of Commonwealth soldiers, Lammy, who is of Caribbean heritage, said: “I bought a new suit this morning because my godmother said she would be watching. But his question brings to mind the West Indies Regiment and their contribution in two World Wars.” He went on to thank his frontbench colleague Bridget Phillipson, the education secretary, whom he was sat next to, for “ensuring that, despite wearing a new suit, I've managed to put my poppy on. We wear the poppy to remember all those who fought and died for this country. They represented every walk of life, every race and every religion.” The Sun has since reported that Lammy borrowed the poppy from Labour backbencher Calvin Bailey, a former RAF officer. Meanwhile, in his exchange with Shadow Defence Secretary James Cartlidge, who was standing in for Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch this week, Lammy was pressed about whether he knew about any additional migrant sex offenders had been accidentally released from prison. This follows the case of Ethiopian Hadush Kebatu, who sexually assaulted a 14-year-old girl and a woman while residing in an asylum hotel in Epping and was accidentally released from prison last month and subsequently re-arrested and put on a deportation flight last Tuesday. While the justice secretary repeatedly avoided giving a direct answer to the questions, after PMQs had concluded Cartlidge raised a point of order following breaking news that “a police manhunt has been launched for a second asylum seeker mistakenly freed from prison”. He asked the Speaker of the House of Commons Sir Lindsay Hoyle to “advise on how I can ask the justice secretary whether he was aware of this”, to which Hoyle responded: “You put it on the record. Right, let's just move on.”
