nearly 100 prisoners freed by mistake over seven months this year

Brahim Kaddour-Cherif and William ‘Billy’ Smith were both accidentally released over the past two weeks

Three prisoners who were mistakenly released are still at large,the Justice Secretary has confirmed,with one free since August last year.

David Lammy set out the latest statistics on accidental releases as the government faces mounting pressure following a series of high-profile errors.

A total of 91 prisoners were unintentionally freed between April 1 and October 31 this year,Lammy told MPs.

He said: ‘I’m clear that we must bear down on these numbers,which are symptomatic of a prison system under horrendous strain.’

The criminal who remains on the run after being released in August 2024 was in prison for a class B drug offence.

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Start your day informed with Metro's News Updates newsletter or get Breaking News alerts the moment it happens.Another,freed in December last year,was in prison for failing to surrender to the police,while the third was released in June this year and had been serving time for aggravated burglary.Lammy,who also serves as Deputy Prime Minister,said up to £10 million over six months would be used to introduce AI and other technology into the system in an effort to help staff cut down mistakes.He said: ‘We are putting in new guardrails around an archaic system,with tougher new checks,reviewing specific failings and modernising prison processes and joint working with courts – all to bear down on the increase in mistakes.‘That is what victims deserve. That is what the public expects,and this government will do what it takes to protect the public.’It comes as two other men were accidentally let out of HMP Wandsworth last week.Brahim Kaddour-Cherif,a 24-year-old Algerian man,was found in Islington and arrested last week,following a tip off from the member of the public after they recognised him from a Metro newspaper.Just a few days after he was released,William ‘Billy’ Smith was also accidentally freed from HMP Wandsworth.A few days later Smith voluntarily handed himself back in.

Timeline of how the two prisoners were accidentally freed

Wednesday,October 29: Brahim Kaddour-Cherif is accidentally freed from HMP Wandsworth.

Monday,November 3: William ‘Billy’ Smith is accidentally freed from HMP Wandsworth.

Tuesday,November 4: Prison Service informs the Met a prisoner has been released in error. Justice Secretary David Lammy is informed.

12pm – Wednesday,November 5: Lammy is quizzed by shadow defence secretary James Cartlidge during Prime Minister’s Questions in the House of Commons over whether or not any more asylum seekers had been mistakenly freed from prison. Lammy declines to respond.

12.41pm: News breaks that a prisoner has been accidentally freed from Wandsworth prison and a manhunt is underway.

3.52pm: Met Police name him as Brahim Kaddour-Cherif.

4.19pm: Surrey Police say a second prisoner,William ‘Billy’ Smith,was accidentally freed from HMP Wandsworth on Monday and a manhunt is underway.

Thursday,November 6: – Smith returns to Wandsworth after handing himself back in.

Friday,November 7: Kaddour-Cherif is arrested in north London after being spotted by a member of the public.

The accidental releases happened just days after migrant sex offender Hadush Kebatu was mistakenly released from HMP Chelmsford in Essex.

Kebatu,a former asylum seeker from Ethiopia,became one of the most notorious sex offenders in the country when his case sparked protests outside the Bell Hotel in Epping.

Lammy previously said he was ‘appalled at the rate of releases in error’.

Some 91 prisoners have been released this year (Picture: Carl Court/Getty Images)

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.

But prison guards have revealed to Metro this mistake is much more common than the public realise.

They said most prisons are ‘overcrowded but understaffed’ meaning it is hard to spot such serious errors. 

One officer told Metro: ‘It is a category B jail,there will be prisoners going in and out everyday for court dates and visits,and they are so understaffed.’

‘It is just part of a wider issue of prison funding.’