Authorities are attempting to trace a 24-year-old Algerian national who was wrongly released from HMP Wandsworth, in what is now the second erroneous discharge of a migrant offender in under a fortnight.
The man was let out of the south London jail last Wednesday, but according to reports the Metropolitan Police were not alerted until early Tuesday afternoon.
The man had been serving a sentence for trespass with intent to steal and is known to have a previous conviction for indecent exposure.
The disclosure surfaced only hours after David Lammy, deputising for the Prime Minister at PMQs this morning, declined to respond to repeated questions from shadow defence secretary James Cartlidge about whether any other migrant prisoners had been mistakenly freed.
Following the Commons session, Mr Lammy said he was “absolutely outraged and appalled by the mistaken release of a foreign criminal wanted by the police”, adding that his “officials have been working through the night to take him back to prison”.
This incident follows the recent release of Hadush Kebatu from HMP Chelmsford, who was supposed to be transferred to an immigration removal centre. Instead, he was mistakenly allowed to leave, triggering a 48-hour police manhunt. Kebatu, convicted of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old and another woman, was later deported to Ethiopia after accepting a £500 payment to abandon plans for a fresh asylum claim.
The latest error occurred despite what Mr Lammy has described as the Government’s most stringent release checks to date.
In a statement, the Met said:
“Shortly after 13:00hrs on Tuesday Nov 4, the Met was informed by the Prison Service that a prisoner had been released in error from HMP Wandsworth on Wednesday Oct 29.
“The prisoner is a 24-year-old man of Algerian nationality. Officers are carrying out urgent inquiries in an effort to locate the man and return him to custody.”
The Prison Service has not explained why police were informed nearly a week late, nor is it clear whether Mr Lammy was aware of the situation while being questioned in Parliament.
Shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick criticised the handling of the situation, saying:
“This is another shambles under Calamity Lammy’s watch. Accidental releases of prisoners have more than doubled under this government and David Lammy doesn’t have a clue what’s going on.
“The British people are being put in danger time and again due to the Government’s sheer incompetence.”
Downing Street responded by linking the episode to what it called systemic issues inherited from the previous administration. The Prime Minister’s spokesman said the earlier mistaken release was “utterly unacceptable” and added, “We have been very open about the chaos that this Government has inherited.”
The case is expected to be a central focus of Dame Lynne Owens’s ongoing review into wrongful releases.
