Prison Release Chaos: Who Screwed Up Worse?
A dramatic twist unfolded at today’s Prime Minister’s Questions, taken by Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy, after it emerged that a second foreign national offender had been mistakenly released from prison — just days after a similar blunder sparked outrage.
The heated Commons exchange between Lammy and Conservative deputy leader James Cartlidge centred on the earlier accidental release of convicted sex offender Hadush Kebatu, an Ethiopian national who entered the UK illegally and was deported after his wrongful release from HMP Chelmsford.
Cartlidge repeatedly pressed Lammy to confirm that no other asylum-seeking offenders had been let out by mistake since the Kebatu case. Lammy, however, avoided answering directly, insisting instead that the government was “tightening procedures” and blaming “systemic issues inherited from the Conservatives.”
But in a stunning post-session revelation, Cartlidge returned to the chamber on a point of order to reveal breaking news: police had launched a manhunt for a 24-year-old Algerian man, Brahim Kaddour-Cherif, who was released in error from HMP Wandsworth on October 29 — six days before the debate.
According to the Metropolitan Police, the error was discovered only after routine checks, triggering a nationwide search. The Ministry of Justice has confirmed that an independent investigation is underway into both cases.
“This is a catastrophic failure of basic public protection,” said Cartlidge, demanding an apology from Lammy and full transparency over how two asylum-seeking offenders were able to walk free in less than a month.
Lammy defended his department’s handling, saying, “We are addressing systemic errors, not political point-scoring.” Critics, however, accused him of evasion after he refused to confirm whether further wrongful releases had occurred.
Data released by the Prison Service shows that 262 prisoners in England and Wales were released by mistake in the 12 months to March 2025, a 128 percent increase year-on-year, fuelling concerns about staffing shortages, IT failures, and overcrowding in major prisons such as HMP Wandsworth.
