More than 90 prisoners freed by mistake since April this year, figures show

A total of 91 prisoners have been freed by mistake since April this year, latest figures show, as the Government faces mounting pressure over releases in error.

The data, released by the Ministry of Justice on Tuesday, shows the accidental releases took place between April 1 and October 31 this year.

It comes as Justice Secretary David Lammy is set to face questions from MPs over the issue, after it was revealed two prisoners had been freed in error following the high-profile jail blunder of Hadush Kebatu, the now-deported migrant at the heart of protests in Epping, Essex.

Mr Lammy said the Government “must bear down on these numbers” as he spoke during justice questions in the Commons on Tuesday.

“In my oral statement later today I look forward to updating the House on the steps the Government is taking to reverse this trend,” the Deputy Prime Minister added.

Releases in error can include misplaced warrants for imprisonment or remand, sentence miscalculations or can be as a result of mistakes by courts or other authorities, the MoJ said.

The update comes as shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick said he would press Mr Lammy on latest release in error figures, adding the accidental releases of Kebatu and the two prisoners that sparked manhunts were “just the tip of the iceberg”, and that the British public deserves to have the “full picture”.

Algerian national Brahim Kaddour-Cherif, 24, was accidentally freed from HMP Wandsworth in London on October 29, but was re-arrested on Friday after a police manhunt.

He was serving a sentence for trespass with intent to steal, but had previously been convicted for indecent exposure.

Another prisoner, Billy Smith, 35, convicted of fraud offences, was also accidentally freed from the same prison last Monday, but handed himself back in on Thursday.

Stronger security checks were announced for prisons and an independent investigation was launched into releases in error after Kebatu was accidentally freed on October 24, prompting a three-day manhunt.

The Ethiopian national had been jailed for sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl and a woman, but was freed by mistake instead of being sent to an immigration detention centre.

Some 262 inmates were mistakenly let out in the year to March 2025 – a 128% increase on the 115 in the previous 12 months, separate Government figures also show.

Mr Lammy has faced criticism over his handling of the latest release in error after he repeatedly refused to confirm at Prime Minister’s Questions whether any more asylum seekers had been wrongly released since Kebatu.

The Justice Secretary said he found out about the mistake on Wednesday morning, but the detail was released just after he had finished PMQs.

It is understood Kaddour-Cherif is not an asylum seeker, but is in the process of being deported after he overstayed his visa.

Meanwhile, three prisoners are now understood to be at large after being released in error.

Over the weekend, it was reported that a total of four such offenders had been released in error, with two released in June this year, and two in 2024.

On Monday, sources within the Government suggested that one of these had been returned to custody.

In a sign of the crisis behind the scenes within the custodial estate, he is understood to have never actually been released in error and was miscounted among those who had been.

Whether the miscounted prisoner remains in custody or was released at the correct time is unclear.

In the wake of Kebatu’s mistaken release, chief inspector of prisons Charlie Taylor had said mistakes are happening “all the time” and are symptomatic of the chaos within the system.

Prisons minister Lord James Timpson said on Monday there is “no quick fix” to releases in error, and it is “going to take time to get it right”.

The minister said a digital team who visited HMP Wandsworth last week have been given the green light to look at using AI chatbots to help with releases of prisoners.