Lammy's ministry paid £176,000 to social media influencers to promote Labour policies - including soft justice measures

By DAVID BARRETT, HOME AFFAIRS EDITOR Published: 00:32, 20 July 2026 | Updated: 00:32, 20 July 2026 The Ministry of Justice has paid £176,000 to social media influencers since Labour came to power. Online 'content creators' were handed taxpayers' money to promote Labour's policies in the department, including its soft justice measures. The Conservatives accused Justice Secretary David Lammy of 'paying for good publicity' while he freed criminals from jail early and racked up a record Crown court backlog. Justice minister Jake Richards confirmed £176,140 had been lavished on 'influencer activity' to 'work with content creators who can help us achieve our communications objectives'. He added: 'Given their reach and the trusted relationships they have with their audiences, this can be a cost-effective and impactful communications channel for reaching target audiences in support of operational priorities.' Topics the influencers were paid to promote included 'community sentencing', the minister confirmed. Labour has introduced laws which will see tens of thousands of criminals avoid prison, while many of those who do receive custodial sentences will spend less time behind bars. An existing early release scheme launched by Labour in autumn 2024 has already seen more than 60,000 criminals freed early. Justice Secretary and Deputy PM David Lammy has appeared in several videos created by online influencers. It has now emerged influencers have been paid £176,000 in taxpayers' money to promote Labour policies Other initiatives promoted for money by the online freelancers included recruitment campaigns for prisons, probation and the magistracy, along with 'public information campaigns to help citizens understand their rights'. Shadow Justice Secretary Nick Timothy said: 'Given David Lammy's woeful record as Justice Secretary, it's not surprising he needs to pay to receive good publicity. 'From restricting jury trials, to releasing rapists early, to locking up fewer criminals, Labour have utterly wrecked our justice system. 'This money would be better spent on our courts and prisons, not social media influencers.' The department declined to reveal which influencers had received taxpayers' money to promote its goals. However, several content creators have recently interviewed Justice Secretary David Lammy about policies he has overseen - although the department said no money was exchanged for interviews with Mr Lammy or any other minister. Freddie Fraser, who describes himself as an 'aspiring presenter' and was a contestant on the BBC's Traitors game show, asked Mr Lammy about making the judiciary 'more diverse and representative'.  In part of the two-minute Instagram video published on June 4, Mr Fraser says to the Justice Secretary: 'I'm going to give you a sentence and you've just got to finish it, basically.' Mr Fraser, whose Instagram account also features videos of his gym work-outs, then says: 'A fair justice system should...' Mr Lammy replies: 'Protect everybody.'  He is then asked to finish four more sentences. in another Instagram reel Georgie Mitchell, who describes herself as 'The People's Wedding Planner', asked Mr Lammy about wedding law reforms published by his department last week. She even included an image of the message sent to her by the Ministry of Justice's 'digital team', which she received through Instagram's 'business chat' function. A Ministry of Justice spokesman said the department has not paid influencers - including Mr Fraser and Ms Mitchell - for content featuring Mr Lammy or other ministers. The spokesman added: 'As more people get their information through social media instead of traditional media or government channels, we want to make sure we're reaching them.   'To do this, we work with influencers and content creators, which can provide a cost-effective alternative to traditional advertising. 'Wherever possible, we do this at little or no cost – and every penny spent focuses on ensuring the justice system works for people, whether that's to support our recruitment of vital frontline staff in prisons or making sure victims understand their rights. 'None of this money has been used to pay influencers to create content with ministers.'