Justice Secretary David Lammy has disclosed to Parliament that a staggering 91 inmates have been incorrectly released from prisons across England and Wales since April, with as many as four individuals potentially still at large.
Political Clash Over Prison System Failures
During a tense Commons statement, Lammy provided details of three mistakenly freed prisoners that police are actively attempting to trace. The Prison Service is additionally investigating a fourth inmate who was released in error last Monday and may not have been apprehended.
The shadow justice secretary, Robert Jenrick, launched a scathing attack on Lammy's handling of the situation. "The justice secretary is so clueless, he's literally lost track of how many prisoners he's lost," Jenrick told fellow MPs. He mocked Lammy's uncertainty about whether the fourth prisoner had been recaptured, stating: "He says today a prisoner may have been accidentally released last Monday. Well, has he looked? He's either in his cell or he's not. What a complete and utter farce he's presiding over."
Jenrick emphasised the public danger posed by these errors, describing the ongoing situation as "a circus [that] rumbles on week after week, with no end in sight."
Systemic Issues and Historical Cuts Blamed
Lammy countered by placing responsibility on funding reductions implemented by previous Conservative governments. "Frontline prison officers were cut by a quarter between 2010 and 2017," he explained. "That's around 6,000 fewer people and means that there are less experienced staff, which places more pressure on the system. Unsurprisingly, mistakes happen in those circumstances."
The justice secretary extended an invitation to his political opponent, asking Jenrick to join him in apologising for the serious administrative failures.
Lammy confirmed that 262 prisoners had been freed in error in the year to March 2025 out of approximately 57,000 total releases. This represents a dramatic 128% increase compared to the previous year. "New data my department published today shows that from April to the end of October this year, there were 91 releases in error from prison," he stated.
Government Response and Reform Measures
A spokesperson from Number 10 acknowledged the severity of the situation, describing the numbers as "symptomatic of a system that the government inherited, of a prison system under severe strain, a failing criminal justice system."
The spokesperson confirmed the increasing frequency of these errors, noting they had risen from an average of nine per month in 2023 to 17 per month the following year.
Lammy outlined several measures aimed at addressing the systemic problems:
- Establishment of a justice performance board that he will chair monthly
- A £10 million AI scheme to assist frontline staff in avoiding mistakes and accurately calculating sentences
- Implementation of tougher new release checks
- Direct engagement with prison governors and deployment of technical experts
"The release process requires a radical overhaul," Lammy asserted, emphasising the urgency of comprehensive reform.
Regarding the three prisoners confirmed to be at large, Lammy provided details but noted that none were sex offenders. They include:
- A class B drug offender freed in August 2024
- An individual who failed to surrender to police, freed in December 2024
- A prisoner convicted of aggravated burglary freed in June 2025
Two are British citizens while the third is a foreign national.
This statement follows several high-profile mistaken releases, including Brahim Kaddour-Cherif, an Algerian sex offender, and Billy Smith, a fraudster, who were both incorrectly freed from HMP Wandsworth. Smith subsequently turned himself in, while police apprehended Kaddour-Cherif last week.
These incidents occurred shortly after Hadush Kebatu, an Ethiopian national, was mistakenly released from HMP Chelmsford despite his conviction for sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl and a woman shortly after arriving in the UK via a small boat.
Lammy clarified that the error leading to Kaddour-Cherif's release occurred in September, before the implementation of enhanced security checks. The justice secretary has faced criticism regarding his handling of these incidents, particularly after repeatedly refusing to confirm during Prime Minister's Questions whether any additional asylum seekers had been wrongly released since Kebatu.
