In a development that has sent ripples through the British justice system, Justice Secretary David Lammy has confirmed that twelve more prisoners have been mistakenly released from jails across England and Wales in the past three weeks, with two still at large as of December 2, 2025. These revelations, coming on the heels of earlier incidents, have pushed the total number of accidental releases since April past the 100 mark, according to figures cited across BBC, ITV, and other major news outlets.
The issue of wrongful releases first exploded into public view after the high-profile case of Hadush Kebatu, an Ethiopian national who had been jailed for sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl and a woman while living in an asylum hotel in Epping. Kebatu was mistakenly released from HMP Chelmsford instead of being transferred to an immigration detention center. His freedom was short-lived; after a two-day manhunt, he was re-arrested in Finsbury Park and subsequently deported to Ethiopia. The case ignited a firestorm of criticism, with many questioning the competence and reliability of the current prison release system.
Justice Secretary Lammy, appearing on BBC Breakfast, did not mince words about the scale of the challenge. “There has been a spike, it’s on a downward trajectory. There have been 12 since I made that statement [to Parliament on November 11]. At the moment two are currently at large,” he stated, according to BBC. He was quick to reassure the public that the two individuals still at large are not violent or sexual offenders, emphasizing that operational concerns prevent him from disclosing further details as police continue their search.
These latest blunders are not isolated incidents. Since April 2025, more than 100 prisoners have been wrongly freed, with 91 such releases occurring between April and October alone. The Ministry of Justice has acknowledged that mistaken releases have occurred at several major prisons, including Wandsworth, Pentonville, Belmarsh, and HMP Chelmsford. The cases of Brahim Kaddour-Cherif, an Algerian national and sex offender, and William Smith, convicted of fraud, further illustrate the breadth of the problem. Kaddour-Cherif was rearrested near Capital City College in Islington after a police manhunt, while Smith handed himself back in to HMP Wandsworth days after his mistaken release.
The statistics paint a stark picture. According to ITV and BBC, the number of mistaken releases surged by 128% in the last year, rising from 115 in 2023-24 to 262 in 2024-25. This spike coincided with a 13% increase in the overall number of prisoner releases, which topped 57,000 in the most recent year. These figures include cases where prisoners were released either too early or too late, highlighting the systemic nature of the issue.
At the heart of the problem, according to Lammy and prison watchdogs, is the continued reliance on outdated, paper-based systems. “I made it clear in Parliament that on a paper-based system there will always be human error and there has been human error for all of my lifetime. Until we move to a completely digital system, I think it’s impossible to rule out human error,” Lammy told BBC Breakfast. He pointed to the complexity introduced by recent government policies, particularly new release schemes implemented in the last four years, as factors that have further complicated the process.
Efforts to stem the tide of mistaken releases have already begun. The government has introduced tougher checks, including a new urgent hotline staffed by court experts to help prisons quickly escalate queries related to warrants. There is also a clear checklist now in place for prison governors to follow when releasing prisoners, a measure introduced in the wake of the Kebatu scandal. To modernize the system, up to £10 million has been earmarked for investment in artificial intelligence tools, with the aim of reducing human error and transitioning to a fully digital system. The Ministry of Justice is also exploring the use of AI chatbots to assist with the release process, according to statements made by ministers to the press.
In addition to technological upgrades, the government has commissioned an independent review, led by Dame Lynne Owens, former deputy commissioner of the Metropolitan Police. The review will scrutinize the circumstances surrounding Kebatu’s release and broader errors across the prison estate, with findings expected to be reported back in February 2026.
Political fallout has been swift and fierce. Shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick has been particularly vocal, blaming the surge in accidental releases on what he calls “Labour’s botched early release scheme.” He told BBC, “The public are consistently being put at risk because of his shambolic management. When will this fiasco end?” Liberal Democrat justice spokesperson Jess Brown-Fuller echoed these concerns, stating, “It’s utterly unacceptable that public safety has been put at risk yet again – both the government and the prison service must own up to their failures and guarantee that these mistakes will stop happening once and for all.”
Inside the prison system, staff are feeling the strain. Charlie Taylor, chief inspector of prisons, told BBC that the rising number of mistaken releases is evidence that “something is going badly wrong.” He pointed to inexperienced staff handling huge caseloads and the constant need to adapt to shifting policies as significant contributors to the problem. Prison minister Lord James Timpson, meanwhile, acknowledged, “There is no quick fix to releases in error, and it is going to take time to get it right.”
Lammy, for his part, has not shied away from taking responsibility. He has apologized to the victims affected by wrongful releases and has pledged to meet with the family of Kebatu’s victim. “Any victim of crime who then finds out that the prisoner has been wrongly released should not be put through that trauma. And of course, I apologize, and I am sorry,” he said, as reported by BBC.
The crisis has also reignited debate over the legacy of previous governments. Lammy has argued that the spike in mistaken releases began during the last four years of the previous Conservative administration, citing the complexity of their new release scheme and the loss of 6,000 officers as contributing factors. However, critics from across the political spectrum contend that the current government’s reforms have not gone far enough, fast enough to restore public confidence.
With two prisoners still at large, an independent review underway, and a digital overhaul promised but not yet realized, the British prison system faces a daunting “mountain to climb,” as Lammy put it. The public, meanwhile, is left waiting for concrete results and, above all, assurances that such costly errors will become a thing of the past.
