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Justice Secretary David Lammy has acknowledged that he “did not have all of the detail” regarding a recent erroneous prisoner release when pressed on the matter in the House of Commons on Wednesday.
Mr. Lammy, who was standing in for Sir Keir Starmer during Prime Minister’s Questions, faced five inquiries from Conservative MP James Cartlidge regarding whether any other “asylum-seeking offender” had been mistakenly released from custody.
He has faced criticism from Conservative politicians for his initial reluctance to answer questions about the mistaken release of Brahim Kaddour-Cherif, an Algerian national convicted of sex offenses, despite being aware of the incident.
In his first public statement since the controversy arose, Mr. Lammy stated that he did not want to risk “misleading” Members of Parliament.
Kaddour-Cherif, who is not an asylum seeker, was one of two inmates mistakenly released from the same London prison.
Conservative Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick has called on Mr. Lammy to “get a grip,” describing the situation as “a total shambles.”
Mr. Lammy, who also serves as Deputy Prime Minister, had previously pledged “the strongest checks ever” to prevent future errors following the accidental release of migrant sex offender Hadush Kebatu from Chelmsford prison in Essex last month.
Erroneous prisoner releases have been an ongoing concern, with figures indicating a rise in recent years.
According to the latest data, 262 prisoners in England and Wales were mistakenly released in the year leading up to March 2025, marking a 128% increase from the 115 releases recorded the previous year.
Speaking during a visit to Gartree Prison in Leicestershire, Mr. Lammy acknowledged that “the rate of release by error is too high” and stated that “it has to come down.”
“That’s why I’ve asked Dame Lynne Owens to look at this to review this and to come back to me as quickly as she’s able to do.”
Dame Lynne, a former Deputy Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, has been tasked with investigating the circumstances surrounding Kebatu’s release and recommending measures to prevent similar incidents in the future.
“We had 800 errors under the last government, this has now gone on for a generation,” said Lammy.
“Our prison system is in crisis so we have to bare down on this but we have a mountain to climb.”
In an interview with Channel 4 News, Mr. Lammy identified the reliance on “a paper-based system dependent on people rather than technology” as a significant factor contributing to errors in the prison release process.
He asserted that the current system is “subject to human error” and requires reform.
Mr. Lammy also indicated that Prisons Minister Lord Timpson would be meeting with the family of one of Kebatu’s victims and expressed his willingness to meet with the family as well.
A police search is currently underway for 24-year-old Kaddour-Cherif, who was convicted of indecent exposure in November 2024.
It is understood that he entered the UK legally on a visitor’s visa in 2019 but overstayed and was in the initial stages of a deportation process.
Kaddour-Cherif was mistakenly released from HMP Wandsworth on October 29, but authorities were not notified until Tuesday.
Sources have told the BBC that the prison’s governor was not present at the facility on the day of Kaddour-Cherif’s release as he was conducting an inquiry into Kebatu’s erroneous release from HMP Chelmsford.
Separately, 35-year-old William Smith, who received a custodial sentence for fraud on Monday, was also wrongly released from Wandsworth Prison on the same day due to a clerical error within the court system.
Surrey Police have confirmed that he is now back in custody after surrendering himself to authorities.
Mr. Jenrick has accused Mr. Lammy of “a dereliction of duty” for his initial reluctance to answer questions during PMQs regarding the mistaken release of Kaddour-Cherif.
The Shadow Justice Secretary also criticized his counterpart for reportedly going shopping for a new suit before PMQs, “rather than gripping his department.”
In an attempt to explain his decision not to wear a Remembrance poppy at the start of the session, Mr. Lammy told MPs on Wednesday: “I bought a new suit this morning because my godmother said that she would be watching.”
Sources close to Mr. Lammy have since clarified that he did not shop on Wednesday morning and had purchased the suit earlier in the week.
The Prison Governors’ Association has described the number of erroneous prisoner releases as “deeply concerning” but noted that such incidents have occurred “under every government’s watch.”
“Achieving a zero-error outcome would demand substantial investment in staff training, modern IT infrastructure, and recruitment, all within a system already stretched by competing priorities,” the association said in a statement.
“Successive governments have accepted this level of risk for decades. In that context, it feels disingenuous to see politicians attempt to extract political gain from a prison system in crisis.”
Mr. Jenrick acknowledged that the previous Conservative government’s record on prisons was “poor and unacceptable.”
However, he added: “It’s a total shambles what we’re seeing right now where the number of people being accidentally released from our prisons has risen off the charts in the last year, under this Labour government.”
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The 35-year-old was wrongly released from HMP Wandsworth the same day he had been sentenced to jail.
The Victorian-era facility is one of the largest in the UK with its interior just as intimidating as its entrance.
The prison is doing “reasonably well” despite mixed progress with recommendations, inspectors say.
The early release scheme was launched in September 2024 as an emergency measure to tackle overcrowding.
The POA union says the accidental release at HMP The Mount is one of five in the last week.
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