London’s HMP Wandsworth prison is once again under the national spotlight after two prisoners were mistakenly released within days of each other, reigniting fierce debate over the state of England’s prison system and the government’s ability to manage it. The incidents, both occurring in early November 2025, have drawn criticism from across the political spectrum, shaken public confidence, and prompted urgent calls for reform.
On Monday, November 3, 35-year-old William "Billy" Smith was mistakenly released from Wandsworth just hours after being handed a 45-month sentence for fraud offenses. According to UPI, a court clerical error led the prison to believe Smith’s sentence had been suspended, resulting in his premature discharge. Smith, who has ties to Surrey, turned himself in three days later, ending his brief time at large and allowing police to cancel their manhunt.
But as authorities resolved one mistaken release, another, potentially more serious case continued to unfold. On October 29, 24-year-old Algerian national Brahim (also reported as Ibrahim) Kaddour-Cherif, a registered sex offender, was erroneously set free from Wandsworth. Kaddour-Cherif had been convicted of indecent exposure in 2024 and was serving an 18-month community order, as reported by The Guardian and BBC. He had most recently appeared in court in September 2025 for breaching the terms of that order. Yet, after being found not guilty of a register breach, he was released, despite remaining subject to a community order and facing deportation for overstaying his visa since 2019.
The Metropolitan Police only learned of Kaddour-Cherif’s release on November 4—six days after the fact—when the prison service finally realized the error and notified authorities. Detective Chief Superintendent Paul Trevers, leading the investigation, told BBC, “Cherif has had a six-day head start but we are working urgently to close the gap and establish his whereabouts.” As of November 6, Kaddour-Cherif remained at large, with both the Met and Surrey Police involved in the ongoing search.
These blunders came on the heels of yet another mistaken release. On October 24, Hadush Kebatu, an Ethiopian asylum seeker convicted of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl, was wrongly freed from Chelmsford Prison instead of being transferred to an immigration removal center. Kebatu was rearrested 48 hours later in a London park and deported to Ethiopia on October 29. Authorities reportedly paid him the equivalent of $600 to board a flight rather than reopening legal proceedings, according to The Telegraph.
The succession of errors has put Justice Secretary and Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy under intense pressure. During Prime Minister’s Questions on November 5, Lammy was asked five times by opposition MPs whether any foreign offenders had been mistakenly released. He declined to answer, later explaining he did not have full details and did not want to “mislead the House.” In a statement to journalists on November 6, Lammy said he was “as shocked as anyone” by the errors and vowed to “leave no stone unturned” to fix the prison system. “The Metropolitan police is leading an urgent manhunt, and my officials have been working through the night to take him back to prison,” he told BBC. He also ordered an independent investigation led by Dame Lynne Owens to uncover what went wrong, promising that “victims deserve better and the public deserve answers.”
Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who was out of the country during the initial fallout, later defended Lammy, stating he was “setting out the facts to the best of his knowledge” and acknowledging the government’s responsibility to fix the system. However, the opposition was unsparing. Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick described the situation as a “complete and utter shambles,” criticizing Lammy for a “dereliction of duty.” Tory leader Kemi Badenoch accused Lammy of refusing to provide answers when he had them, while others pointed to a pattern of administrative failures.
The scrutiny of Wandsworth is not new. The prison has a long history of high-profile incidents, including the dramatic 2023 escape of former British soldier Daniel Khalife, who used bedsheets to strap himself beneath a food delivery truck. The escape, which occurred while Khalife was on remand for spying for Iran, exposed serious security lapses. According to The Evening Standard, two guards checked the truck with a torch and mirror but allowed it to leave, despite suspecting a prisoner was missing. The prison was subsequently placed under special measures as one of ten jails issued with an urgent notice to improve since November 2022.
Recent inspections have found some progress under new leadership, with a new governor bringing “energy and focus” and prioritizing safety and decency. However, watchdogs warn that chronic understaffing, deteriorating infrastructure, and unsafe, inhumane living conditions persist. In April 2025, the prison’s independent monitoring board found that a third of staff were absent on any given day, and the 170-year-old building’s crumbling state contributed to “unacceptable” conditions. Despite nearly £900,000 invested in security since Khalife’s escape, the overall level of staff experience remains low, and many problems identified in prior inspections have yet to be fully addressed.
Overcrowding compounds the crisis. Government figures cited by UPI show that Wandsworth is the second most overcrowded prison in England and Wales, with over 80% of prisoners held in overcrowded conditions. Chelmsford, too, has more than 50% overcrowding. The scale of mistaken releases is staggering: between March 2024 and March 2025, 262 prisoners were wrongly released in England and Wales—more than double the 115 from the previous year. Since 2011-2012, Wandsworth and Chelmsford have together mistakenly released over 1,000 inmates.
The government has responded by launching a formal review into accidental releases and introducing new measures to tighten release procedures. Yet, as public confidence in the prison system continues to erode, many question whether these efforts will be enough. The Ministry of Justice, under mounting scrutiny, faces the daunting task of restoring order and credibility to a system beset by years of decline, chronic underinvestment, and persistent administrative failures.
As the manhunt for Kaddour-Cherif continues and investigations into the latest errors proceed, the nation is left grappling with uncomfortable questions about the safety, security, and competence of its prisons. For now, officials insist they are working urgently to prevent further blunders—but for many, the damage to public trust has already been done.
