Two prisoners who were accidentally released in the past three weeks are still on the run,Justice Secretary David Lammy has revealed.
Last month,Lammy introduced additional checks for prison officers to guard against mistaken releases following the high-profile case of Hadush Kebatu.
In a statement to the House of Commons,he revealed 91 prisoners had been set free in error between April and October this year.
Asked this morning if more violent offenders or sex offenders have been freed since he gave that statement,the Deputy PM told Sky News: ‘There have been.
‘There have been releases in error since I made that statement,but I want to convey that the trend this year is fortunately downwards.’
Pressed on the number,he said there were two,and he later confirmed they remain at large.
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Craig Munro breaks down Westminster chaos into easy to follow insight,walking you through what the latest policies mean to you. Sent every Wednesday. Sign up here.However,in an appearance on BBC Breakfast,Lammy said 12 prisoners had been accidentally released in the past three weeks,and two was the figure for those still at large.He said prisons are using a paper-based system and ‘human error’ would reduce once they adopt a ‘completely digital system’.The Justice Secretary is preparing to announce major changes to the court system in England,which he says are necessary to stop it from collapsing.Among the measures likely to be announced in the House of Commons this afternoon is an end to the use of jury trials in what are called ‘either way’ cases.These apply to offences that can be tried in either a magistrates’ court or a Crown Court.Writing in today’s Telegraph,Lammy said; ‘Jury trials have always been the cornerstone of justice in our country – as they will continue to be – but that doesn’t mean they have never changed.‘Every few generations,as society changes,it has proven necessary to reform the courts.’
