Crisis after two prisoners launched from identical jail as David Lammy voices fury

Justice Secretary David Lammy voiced his fury after it emerged criminals Brahim Kaddour-Cherif and William Smith had both been released from HMP Wandsworth – just days after the Hadush Kebatu scandal

The Ministry of Justice has been plunged into crisis after it emerged two prisoners were mistakenly released days apart from the same jail.

Registered sex offender Brahim Kaddour-Cherif wrongly walked free from HMP Wandsworth last week – but it took six days before the Met Police was told. And it also emerged that fraudster William Smith, known as Billy, had also been released from the same prison on Monday after a mix-up on court records.

Police have launched manhunts for both men. The dual blunders came just days after paedophile Hadush Kebatu was mistakenly released from HMP Chelmsford on October 24.

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Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy – who stood in for Keir Starmer at PMQs – said he was “outraged and appalled”. Mr Lammy, who is also Justice Secretary, said Algerian national Kaddour-Cherif’s release “exposes deeper flaws across the failing criminal justice system”.

Kaddour-Cherif, 24, was in the initial stages of the deportation process when he disappeared on October 29. He entered the UK legally on a visit visa in 2019, and had been on the Home Office radar as an overstayer for over five years.

Police were not informed about his release until Tuesday. The Mirror confirmed Kaddour-Cherif exposed himself to a woman in a park near his home days after he failed to appear in court on burglary charges.

Kaddour-Cherif was accused of a break-in at the Royal Society of Literature in Somerset House on the Strand in September 2023. He was bailed the following January but failed to appear for a hearing at Stratford Magistrates’ Court on March 1.

Later that month he exposed himself to a woman in Lloyd Park in Walthamstow, east London – not far from his flat in Tower Hamlets. The sex offender was further charged with handling stolen goods after allegedly being found in possession of bank cards belonging to a female victim in Lambeth, south London, in August last year.

Kaddour-Cherif was eventually arrested and convicted in November 2024, of indecent exposure relating to the incident in March. He was sentenced to an 18 month community order and placed on the sex offenders’ register for five years.

On 9 September this year Kaddour-Cherif was arrested again after officers confirmed he was wanted on warrant for failing to appear at court, failing to comply with probation conditions and for breaching the conditions he was subject to as a result of being on the sex offenders’ register.

He had previously reportedly been charged with a string of other alleged offences, including possession of a knife and another count of burglary.

Commander Paul Trevers said: “Cherif has had a six-day head start but we are working urgently to close the gap and establish his whereabouts. We will continue to use all the means at our disposal but we are also appealing for the public’s help to find him.

“We have seen in the very recent past how important alert members of the public reporting sightings can be.” Smith, 35, was released from Wandsworth despite being sentenced to 45 months for multiple frauds on Monday.

Sources told The Mirror he was freed after he was confused with his co-defendant, who had the same surname. He was sentenced alongside his co-defendant, with court listings showing that a Joseph Smith was also up in court with him.

The Mirror understands Smith’s co-defendant, who was on bail and attended court in person, received a suspended sentence, allowing him to walk free. Billy, who was being held on remand in HMP Wandsworth appeared via video link, where he received a custodial sentence.

But the sentences were mixed up when put into the digital system, with Billy given a suspended sentence in error. The blunder then triggered the release process for Billy.

Officials realised the wrong sentence had been put into the system and tried to correct the error earlier on Monday, but another mistake was made – and the wrong person was notified about the error. Billy was then mistakenly released on Monday before it could be corrected.

Surrey Police said Smith has links to Woking but could be anywhere in the county. News of Kaddour-Cherif’s release broke moments after a tense PMQs exchange between Mr Lammy and Tory Shadow Defence Secretary James Cartlidge.

Mr Cartlidge repeatedly asked the Deputy PM if any asylum seekers had been wrongly released since Kebatu was set free from HMP Chelmsford. Kebatu, who sexually assaulted a 14-year-old girl and a woman, was arrested in London after a two-day manhunt. He has since been deported to Ethiopia.

Kaddour-Cherif was not an asylum seeker, it was later confirmed. Mr Lammy – who was informed of his accidental release on Tuesday evening – hit back and turned his fire on the Conservatives.

He described the state of the justice system when the Tories left office as a “shameful spectacle” and accused them of “criminal negligence”.

In a statement on Wednesday afternoon he said: “I am absolutely outraged and appalled by the mistaken release of a foreign criminal wanted by the police.

“The Metropolitan Police is leading an urgent manhunt, and my officials have been working through the night to take him back to prison. Victims deserve better and the public deserve answers.”

Following Kebatu’s release an independent investigation was launched, led by Dame Lynne Owens.

Mr Lammy said: “This latest incident exposes deeper flaws across the failing criminal justice system we inherited.”

Tory shadow home secretary Chris Philp also described Kaddour-Cherif’s mistaken release as “shocking”. He said it “makes a mockery” of the Deputy PM’s claim to have introduced the “strongest ever checks” on releases.

In the fallout from Kebatu’s accidental release, chief inspector of prisons Charlie Taylor said mistakes are happening “all the time” and are symptomatic of the chaos within the system.