The Justice Secretary is facing urgent calls to reveal the true scale of accidental prisoner releases, following the revelation that an inmate was mistakenly counted among those currently at large after being freed in error.
Mounting Pressure for Transparency
Shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick has declared he will confront Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy in the Commons on Tuesday. He demands clear answers on how many prisoners have been accidentally released since April 1 this year and, crucially, how many remain unaccounted for.
In a letter to Mr Lammy, Jenrick stated he would also press for details on how many of those mistakenly freed are violent or sexual offenders. This push for transparency comes amid a deepening crisis within the UK's custodial system.
A Case of Miscounting and Manhunts
The situation escalated over the weekend when reports indicated a total of four offenders had been released in error—two in June this year and two in 2024. However, in a confusing twist, government sources suggested on Monday that one of these individuals had been returned to custody.
Further investigation revealed a significant administrative failure: this particular inmate is understood to have never actually been released in error and was simply miscounted among those who had been. It remains unclear whether this miscounted prisoner is still in custody or was released at their correct time.
This blunder follows intense scrutiny sparked by a double manhunt. Algerian national Brahim Kaddour-Cherif, 24, was arrested on Friday after a police search. He had been accidentally released from HMP Wandsworth on October 29, but the Metropolitan Police were only informed days later, on Tuesday. Kaddour-Cherif was serving a sentence for trespass with intent to steal and had a previous conviction for indecent exposure.
In a separate incident, Billy Smith, 35, who was sentenced to 45 months for multiple fraud offences, was also mistakenly freed from Wandsworth. He subsequently handed himself back into custody on Thursday.
A System in Crisis and the Government's Response
These recent errors are not isolated incidents. They follow the mistaken release of Hadush Kebatu, whose arrest for sexual assault while living in an asylum hotel sparked public protests in Epping, Essex. Official figures reveal the alarming trend: 262 inmates were mistakenly released in the year to March 2025. This represents a staggering 128% increase on the 115 recorded in the previous 12 months. Of this total, 90 were violent or sex offenders.
Facing this mounting pressure, David Lammy admitted on Friday there is a ‘mountain to climb’ to resolve the prison system's failures. The Prime Minister’s official spokesman acknowledged the crisis, stating, “These cases reflect the nature and scale of the prison crisis inherited by this Government. We have been clear that there is no overnight fix.”
The government's proposed solution includes building 14,000 more prison places and sending tech experts to modernise the system. In the House of Lords, prisons minister Lord James Timpson elaborated on the problem, describing a chaotic process reliant on “boxes and boxes of paperwork.”
He highlighted the vast disparity between prisons, with HMP Gartree averaging just two releases a year compared to HMP Wandsworth's 2,000. Lord Timpson confirmed a digital team is now investigating solutions for Wandsworth, including the potential use of an AI chatbot to assist with the release process and cross-reference prisoner aliases.
As of now, three prisoners mistakenly released are still at large. The Prime Minister's spokesman has urged the public to assist police with their inquiries, stating, “The three remaining are subject to live police investigations. We would urge anyone with any information to come forward to the police.”
