A senior government minister has confirmed that accidental prisoner releases have increased under the Labour administration, with the justice secretary admitting there is a "mountain to climb" to resolve the crisis in the prison system.
Rising Numbers and Ministerial Admissions
Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy revealed during an interview with the BBC's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg that accidental prisoner releases have risen from an average of 17 under the previous government to 22 under the current administration. Speaking on Sunday 9th November 2025, Ms Nandy stated: "That is completely unacceptable. It was unacceptable before, it's unacceptable now."
She emphasised that "even one is too many" but insisted the government is addressing the problem by appointing Dame Lynne Owens, former director of the National Crime Agency, to oversee improvements. Key measures include replacing antiquated paper-based systems dating from the 1980s, building new prisons, and implementing additional checks to prevent wrongful releases.
Ongoing Manhunts and High-Profile Cases
The admission comes amid growing pressure on ministers following several high-profile cases where mistakenly freed prisoners remained at large. As of Saturday, two prisoners mistakenly released last year and another two freed in error in June 2025 remain missing.
One notable case involved Brahim Kaddour-Cherif, a 24-year-old Algerian national with convictions for theft and indecent exposure, who was serving a sentence at HMP Wandsworth in southwest London. He was mistakenly released on 29th October before being captured nine days later in Islington, north London, after being spotted by a member of the public.
Just days before Kaddour-Cherif's arrest, another wrongly released prisoner, 35-year-old fraudster William Smith, voluntarily handed himself back into custody on Thursday.
Political Fallout and Calls for Action
The series of errors has placed Justice Secretary David Lammy under significant scrutiny, particularly after he chose not to address the mistaken release during Prime Minister's Questions on Wednesday, despite having been briefed on the situation.
Following Kaddour-Cherif's arrest, Mr Lammy acknowledged the scale of the challenge, stating: "That is why I have ordered new tough release checks, commissioned an independent investigation into systemic failures and begun overhauling archaic paper-based systems still used in some prisons."
Opposition parties have been highly critical of the government's handling of the situation. Shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick accused the government of incompetence, stating: "It shouldn't be left to reporters to uncover the facts. David Lammy must finally come clean about how many prisoners have been accidentally released and how many are still at large."
Liberal Democrat justice spokesperson Jess Brown-Fuller described the situation as a "disgrace and an omnishambles" and called for Parliament to be recalled from recess. She argued: "It shouldn't have to take the media to inform the public that prisoners are at large after accidental release. The Justice Secretary must answer to MPs at the earliest opportunity."
The government now faces increasing demands for transparency and urgent action as it works to regain public confidence in the prison system while continuing efforts to locate the remaining mistakenly freed prisoners.
