Justice Secretary David Lammy has disclosed that a dozen more inmates in England and Wales were mistakenly freed from custody over the past month, bringing the total number of erroneous releases this year to over a hundred.
Latest Figures and Ongoing Manhunt
Speaking to broadcasters, Lammy confirmed that twelve additional prisoners were released in error since his last update to parliament in mid-November. Of these, ten have been apprehended, but two individuals remain at large. The Justice Secretary moved to reassure the public, stating he had been given assurances that the two fugitives are not violent or sexual offenders.
"I'm not going to give details of those cases, because these are operational decisions made by the police," Lammy told ITV's Good Morning Britain, emphasising the need to avoid compromising potential arrests.
A Troubling Annual Trend
This latest incident follows a pattern of systemic failures. Lammy previously told the Commons that between 1 April and 31 October this year, there were 91 accidental releases. For the full year to March 2025, the figure stands at 262 erroneous releases out of approximately 57,000, representing a staggering 128% increase on the previous year.
The issue was thrust into the spotlight after several high-profile cases:
- Brahim Kaddour-Cherif, an Algerian sex offender, was mistakenly freed from HMP Wandsworth before being recaptured last week.
- Billy Smith, a fraudster released in error from the same prison, handed himself in.
- Hadush Kebatu, convicted of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl, was wrongly released from HMP Chelmsford.
Lammy stated that the error leading to Kaddour-Cherif's release occurred in September, prior to the implementation of tougher security checks.
Minister Defends Improvements Amid Criticism
Despite the new cases, David Lammy insists the situation is improving. "The trend is downwards after improvements to the system were put in place," he told BBC Breakfast, pointing to recently introduced procedural changes designed to prevent such mistakes.
However, the Justice Secretary has faced political criticism for his handling of the disclosures. He repeatedly declined to confirm during Prime Minister's Questions whether any more asylum seekers had been freed in error since Kebatu, only for details to emerge shortly after the session concluded. Lammy stated he was informed of that particular mistake on the morning of the PMQs session.
The repeated errors have raised serious questions about administrative and security protocols within the prison and probation services, with the government under pressure to demonstrate that its new measures will stem the flow of mistaken releases.
