Wrongful releases of 91 prisoners since April is ‘shocking’ – No 10

No 10 has admitted it was “shocking” that 91 inmates have been wrongly set free since April this year as the Government faces mounting pressure over releases in error.

The data, released by the Ministry of Justice on Tuesday, shows 91 accidental releases took place between April 1 and October 31 this year.

The publication comes as Justice Secretary David Lammy was 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.

A No 10 spokesman told reporters: “These numbers, they are symptomatic of a system that the Government inherited, of a prison system under severe strain, a failing criminal justice system.

“The public are right to be shocked by these cases. While they are rare, they have been rising year-on-year from an average of nine per month in 2023 to 17 per month the next year.

“And we’re clear that you can’t fix the prisons crisis overnight, but we have taken immediate action, including tougher new release checks, calling in prison governors, sending in tech experts.”

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.

Mr Lammy told MPs: “This was not a publication due today, but we recognise the public interest in being transparent about the overall number.”

Shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick had pressed the case for latest release in error figures, saying 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”.

“The public are being endangered as this circus rumbles on week after week, with no end in sight,” Mr Jenrick said in the Commons on Tuesday, responding to Mr Lammy.

“As we all suspected, the crisis on his Government’s watch is even bigger than he dared admit. That’s why he wouldn’t say anything last week.”

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 confirmed in the Commons on Tuesday that the error leading to the mistaken release of Kaddour-Cherif happened in September, before the tougher security checks came in.

“He was charged with burglary at Snaresbrook Crown Court and a warrant was issued to HMP Pentonville for his remand,” he told MPs.

“Contrary to the set down process, it was then forwarded by email to HMP Wandsworth when Mr Kaddour-Cherif was transferred, however, staff did not pick it up and he was released on October 29.”

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.

“Given the nature of the opposition’s question, I made a judgment that I would wait until I had all the detail, rather than risk giving an inaccurate or incomplete or misleading picture to the House about a sensitive case,” Mr Lammy told MPs on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, three prisoners are currently at large after being released in error, Mr Lammy said, while officials are investigating a further case of a potential release in error on November 3, who may also still be at large.

The Justice Secretary told MPs that none of these three are convicted sex offenders, according to their prison records, and that two are British nationals and one is a foreign national offender.

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.

It is understood this is a separate case from the latest potential release in error that Mr Lammy said is being investigated in the Commons.

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.

Mr Lammy added on Tuesday that £10 million will be used over the next six months to deliver AI and technology solutions to help staff avoid mistakes and calculate sentences accurately.