The Ministry of Justice has revealed that authorities mistakenly released 91 prisoners from custody between April 1 and October 31 this year. The Ministry published the figures Tuesday, averaging three accidental releases per week, as Justice Secretary David Lammy prepared to face parliamentary questions over the escalating crisis in Britain's prison system.
The releases represent a sharp increase in administrative failures. In the year to March 2025, authorities mistakenly freed a total of 262 inmates, marking a 128 per cent rise from the previous 12 months when they released 115 prisoners in error. Historical Ministry of Justice data shows the previous Conservative government wrongly released 797 prisoners between March 2012 and March 2024.
Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick described the published figures as "just the tip of the iceberg" and demanded the "full picture" from Lammy. He plans to press the Justice Secretary on how many of the mistakenly released inmates remain at large and how many are classified as violent or sexual offenders. Three prisoners currently remain at large following erroneous releases.
Crisis in the System
Lammy acknowledged the severity of the situation, stating: "Our prison system is in crisis, so we have to bear down on this, but we have a mountain to climb." He attributed recent errors to "human error" linked to a paper-based system for handling prisoners' cases, describing the system as overheating. The Justice Secretary has ordered an urgent independent review into the spike in mistaken releases.
Recent high-profile cases have intensified public concern. Authorities mistakenly freed Hadush Kebatu, an Ethiopian national jailed for sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl and a woman, on October 24 instead of transferring him to an immigration detention centre, sparking a manhunt. Days later, HMP Wandsworth accidentally released Brahim Kaddour-Cherif, a 24-year-old Algerian serving time for trespass with intent to steal, on October 29. Police re-arrested him Friday. The same prison also mistakenly freed Billy Smith, 35, convicted of fraud, last Monday and he handed himself in Thursday.
System Under Pressure
The releases occur amid broader pressures on Britain's prison system, which was approximately 100 spaces from full capacity during the summer. Former Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood, now Home Secretary, had previously implemented emergency early release measures due to the justice system being on the brink of collapse.
Mistakes can occur due to misplaced warrants, sentence miscalculations, or errors by courts or other authorities.
Note: This article was created with Artificial Intelligence (AI).
