A homeless man's quick thinking led to the capture of an escaped sex offender after he recognised the fugitive from a newspaper photograph.
Community Vigilance Leads to Arrest
Nadjib Mekdhia, 50, who stays in the Finsbury Park area, spotted Brahim Kaddour-Cherif on Blackstock Road last Friday morning and immediately alerted authorities. The Algerian national had been mistakenly released from HMP Wandsworth on October 29, though police weren't informed until November 4.
Mr Mekdhia brandished a copy of Metro newspaper as he explained how he identified the 24-year-old convicted sex offender. 'Straight away I called 999, I gave the location and said "this is him",' he told PA news agency.
The homeless man described how he asked a member of the public to lend him a phone after immediately recognising Kaddour-Cherif near an Algerian café. 'I am glad he is in prison,' Mr Mekdhia stated. 'We do not need people like that in our community.'
Prison System Under Scrutiny
Kaddour-Cherif was one of two prisoners wrongly released from the south London prison within the same week. He had been serving a sentence for trespass with intent to steal after being convicted of indecent exposure in November 2024.
Footage from Sky News showed the moment of his arrest, with Kaddour-Cherif wearing glasses, a grey jumper and dark green trousers while denying his identity to police officers. When questioned if he knew the fugitive, he responded: 'Everyone knows him, he's in the news.'
The registered sex offender was caught just a three-minute walk from where another mistakenly released prisoner, Hadush Kebatu, had been re-arrested. Kebatu had sexually assaulted a 14-year-old days after arriving in the UK on a small boat.
Political Fallout Intensifies
The repeated wrongful releases have placed significant pressure on the Labour government, which claims it inherited a broken prison system. Justice Secretary David Lammy faced intense scrutiny during Prime Minister's Questions after failing to confirm whether he knew about another incorrectly released prisoner.
Lammy later revealed he first learned about the situation on Wednesday morning while preparing for the parliamentary session. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer defended his Justice Secretary, saying it was 'right' that Lammy was 'setting out the facts to the best of his knowledge'.
Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick expressed no confidence in Lammy, describing his handling of questions as 'a disgrace' and criticising him for going suit shopping on the morning of the important parliamentary session.
The crisis comes as prison statistics reveal 262 prisoners in England and Wales were mistakenly released in the year to March - more than double the 115 recorded the previous year.
Despite Lammy's promise of the 'strongest checks ever' following the Kebatu case, prison staff report the new measures have created a 'significant burden' and 'only increased the paperwork'.
Mr Mekdhia, who described himself as a 'proud Algerian' and 'proud British' citizen, emphasised the importance of community responsibility. 'We do the right thing,' he stated, expressing relief that the escaped offender was back in custody.
