Justice Secretary David Lammy has insisted he was right not to discuss a mistakenly freed prisoner at Prime Minister's Questions, saying he lacked full details at the time. Speaking after a fraudster who was erroneously released handed himself in, Lammy acknowledged the government faces “a mountain to climb” to address the prisons crisis.
Lammy has faced intense pressure following the mistaken release of two prisoners from HMP Wandsworth. William Smith, a convicted fraudster, returned to jail on Thursday after being freed by a court on Monday, while sex offender Brahim Kaddour-Cherif remains at large. The justice secretary defended his refusal to answer MPs' questions on Wednesday, stating he did not have “all the detail” to update the House.
Asked about the incident, Lammy told Channel 4 he learned of Kaddour-Cherif's disappearance on Wednesday morning, despite government sources suggesting he was briefed on Tuesday night. He stressed the importance of having complete information before addressing serious matters in Parliament, adding that the public ultimately received the facts later that day.
The accidental releases have heightened scrutiny on Lammy, who last week introduced new release checks after a previous error. He confirmed those checks were not yet in place at Wandsworth when Kaddour-Cherif was freed. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer defended Lammy, saying he was “setting out the facts to the best of his knowledge” and expressed anger over the mistakes, attributing them to systemic failures under the previous government.
Official figures show mistaken prisoner releases more than doubled to 262 in the year to March, with prison sources citing overcrowding as a contributing factor. The Metropolitan Police continue to appeal for information on Kaddour-Cherif, believed to be in London with links to Tower Hamlets and Westminster.
