A convicted sex offender who was accidentally released from Wandsworth prison last week has been rearrested in north London. Brahim Kaddour-Cherif, 24, from Algeria, was freed on 29 October due to a clerical error and was detained in Finsbury Park on Friday after a member of the public recognised him.
The arrest was captured by a Sky News camera crew. Officers approached Kaddour-Cherif, who initially denied his identity, but the arresting officer noted his “very distinctive wonky nose”. He was placed in a police van and later confirmed to be the escaped prisoner. Before being taken away, he said: “Look at the justice of the UK, they release people by mistake… it’s not my fucking fault.”
The Metropolitan Police had launched a manhunt for Kaddour-Cherif, expressing frustration that the mistaken release was only reported a week later, on 4 November. He had been serving a sentence for trespass with intent to steal and was convicted for indecent exposure in November 2024, receiving an 18-month community order and placement on the sex offender register for five years.
Kaddour-Cherif entered the UK on a visitor visa in 2019 and overstayed, but had not been deported. He has not applied for asylum. The erroneous release has increased political pressure on Justice Secretary David Lammy, who said: “We inherited a prison system in crisis and I’m appalled at the rate of releases in error this is causing.”
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp called for deportation “as soon as his sentence is finished”, adding: “This case sums up the total collapse of law and order under ‘Calamity Lammy’.” The Ministry of Justice stated that most mistakenly released offenders are quickly recaptured, and pledged to reduce errors.
