A search is currently underway for a migrant inmate who was mistakenly released from Wandsworth Prison.
The Algerian prisoner, aged 24, was serving a sentence for trespassing with intent to steal. However, authorities note that he has a history of sexual offenses.
This administrative error at the south London facility occurred on October 29, but it wasn’t reported to the Metropolitan Police until the following Tuesday.
The delay in notifying law enforcement remains unexplained, and the identity of the inmate has not yet been disclosed to the public.
This incident follows a similar case involving migrant sex offender Hadush Kebatu, who was inadvertently released from HMP Chelmsford on October 24.
In response to these occurrences, David Lammy has pledged to enhance the verification process for prisoner releases, following a nationwide manhunt that resulted in Kebatu being deported to Ethiopia.
The latest news emerged, however, as Mr Lammy refused to answer multiple questions from James Cartlidge during Prime Minister’s Questions today on whether any more migrant prisoners had been mistakenly released.
The shadow defence secretary asked: ‘I want to ask him a further very important question – can he reassure the House that since Kebatu was released, no other asylum seeking offender has been accidentally let out of prison?’
A manhunt has been launched for an Algerian prisoner who was released by mistake from Wandsworth prison (file photo)
Hedush Kebatu was wrongly freed from HMP Chelmsford instead of being sent to an immigration detention centre
Mr Lammy refused to confirm – and lambasted the justice system the Government inherited from the Conservatives.
He replied: ‘Let me just remind him that he was a justice minister that allowed our prisons to get to this state in the first place and it’s now for us to fix the mess that we’ve got into.
‘It’s important that Dame Lynne Owens can now continue her work and understand what is happening. He knows that early releases begun under their watch in 2021.’
The shadow justice secretary then said in a point of order at the end of the session that he was reading reports that a second migrant had been freed.
Mr Cartlidge said: ‘The Telegraph are reporting that a police manhunt has been launched for a second asylum seeker mistakenly freed from prison.
‘The question is, can (the Speaker) advise on how I can ask the Justice Secretary whether he was aware of this when I asked him about it repeatedly in Prime Minister’s question.’
Mr Lammy did not respond.
Conservative MP for Brentwood and Ongar Alex Burghart reacted on X to the news of the release
A woman with a Union Jack flag protests near The Bell Hotel, following the mistaken release of Kebatu
The Prime Minister was not aware of the second migrant wrongly released from prison until the Metropolitan Police announcement, Downing Street suggested.
Sir Keir Starmer’s spokesman told reporters on Wednesday: ‘The Met have released a statement I think in the last few minutes.’
He said ‘one mistaken release is one too many’ and that the case was ‘utterly unacceptable’.
The official could not say when Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy became aware of the release, after he refused to answer multiple questions in the Chamber on whether another asylum-seeking offender had been mistakenly freed from prison since Hadush Kebatu.
The Conservative Party found out about the mistaken release of a prisoner some 15-20 minutes before the start of Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday.
During the session, Deputy Prime Minister and Justice Secretary David Lammy repeatedly refused to answer questions about whether any other asylum seekers had been released early, apart from Hadush Kebatu.
A spokesman for Kemi Badenoch said: ‘If we knew, one can only assume the Justice Secretary knew.’
The spokesman said James Cartlidge, who stood in for the Tory leader in the Commons, had given Mr Lammy ‘the opportunity to front up’ but ‘he ducked it six times’.
‘In fact, he got quite angry, claimed he’d put in the toughest checks ever – which clearly cannot be the case because another one’s got out accidentally,’ the spokesman said.
A CCTV image issued by the Metropolitan Police (pictured) shows Hadush Kebatu in Dalston, London
The Conservatives decided it was ‘not our place’ to announce the mistaken release themselves, the spokesman said.
Mr Lammy should come back to the Commons ‘and do a statement as soon as possible’, the spokesman added
The Metropolitan Police told the Daily Mail in a statement today: ‘Shortly after 1pm on Tuesday 4 November, the Met was informed by the Prison Service that a prisoner had been released in error from HMP Wandsworth on Wednesday 29 October.
‘The prisoner is a 24-year-old Algerian man.
‘Officers are carrying out urgent enquiries in an effort to locate him and return him to custody.’
It comes as the number of prisoners released in error more than doubled in the year leading up to March, government figures show.
A report by the prison service said 262 inmates were freed by mistake in this period, compared to just 115 in the year to March 2024.
The Prime Minister was not aware of the second migrant wrongly released from prison until the Metropolitan Police announcement, Downing Street suggested.
Sir Keir Starmer’s spokesman told reporters on Wednesday: ‘The Met have released a statement I think in the last few minutes.’
He said ‘one mistaken release is one too many’ and that the case was ‘utterly unacceptable’.
The official could not say when Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy became aware of the release, after he refused to answer multiple questions in the Chamber on whether another asylum-seeking offender had been mistakenly freed from prison since Hadush Kebatu.
This is a breaking news story – more to follow
