Justice Secretary David Lammy is facing mounting pressure after two more prisoners, including a convicted foreign sex offender, were mistakenly released from Wandsworth prison in south London. The errors occurred days after Lammy introduced stringent new checks for jails following a similar incident.
Brahim Kaddour-Cherif, a 24-year-old Algerian who had overstayed his visa, was wrongly freed on Wednesday 29 October. The Metropolitan Police was only informed on Tuesday 4 November, giving him a six-day head start. He was in prison for trespass with intent to steal and had been convicted of indecent exposure in November 2024, receiving an 18-month community order. The same prison also accidentally released fraudster William Smith, 35, on Monday 3 November, the day he was sentenced to 45 months for multiple fraud offences.
The latest mistakes follow the erroneous release of Ethiopian national Hadush Kebatu from Chelmsford prison, who had been convicted of sexual assault. Lammy had ordered five pages of new checks for prison governors after that incident. The Prison Service is now investigating whether officers lacked warrants to hold the men in custody, amid concerns that warrants are being lost during transfers between jails and courts.
Downing Street described Kaddour-Cherif's case as concerning, with a spokesperson stating: 'One mistaken release is too many... That is why we've ordered the review led by Lynne Owens.' Labour MP Rosena Allin-Khan, whose constituency includes Wandsworth prison, said she was 'horrified' and demanded urgent answers. Lammy had earlier refused to confirm whether any more prisoners had been released in error during a heated Prime Minister's Questions session, with the Ministry of Justice later saying he had not been 'accurately informed of key details'.
