Government to make main assertion to the UK immediately as strain mounts
Justice Secretary David Lammy will face questions from MPs later today as pressure mounts over prisoners freed in error, while the BBC chaos will also take centre stage
Justice Secretary David Lammy will be grilled by MPs today as mounting pressure surrounds prisoners mistakenly released from custody – with Lisa Nandy also set to comment on the BBC chaos.
Lammy’s appearance follows the erroneous liberation of an Algerian sex offender and a fraudster from HMP Wandsworth, which triggered a double manhunt, alongside the wrongful release of Hadush Kebatu, whose arrest had ignited the asylum hotel demonstrations in Epping.
And Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy will speak today on the row between the BBC and US President Donald Trump, after the latter threatened to sue the media giant for $1bn over doctored footage. Lammy acknowledged on Friday that there is a “mountain to climb” in addressing the prison system crisis. Prisons minister Lord James Timpson stated on Monday that there is “no quick fix” for erroneous releases, emphasising it is “going to take time to get it right”.
Shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick said he would challenge Mr Lammy to reveal how many prisoners have been mistakenly freed since 1st April this year and how many remain on the loose, plus the number who are violent or sexual offenders.
Mr Jenrick claimed the accidental releases of Kebatu and the two prisoners that prompted manhunts were “just the tip of the iceberg”, arguing that the British public deserves the “full picture”.
Ethiopian national Kebatu has subsequently been deported, whilst Algerian national Brahim Kaddour-Cherif was apprehended on Friday and is understood to be undergoing deportation proceedings.
Billy Smith, who was also mistakenly freed from Wandsworth on Monday – having been sentenced to 45 months for multiple fraud offences, surrendered himself on Thursday. Tougher security measures have been introduced in prisons and an independent probe has been initiated into erroneous releases following the accidental release of Kebatu from HMP Chelmsford on October 24.
It is now believed that three inmates are on the loose after being mistakenly released. Over the past weekend, it was revealed that a total of four such convicts had been erroneously freed, with two let out in June this year, and two in 2024.
On Monday, Government insiders hinted that one of these individuals had been returned to custody. However, in a twist revealing the chaos behind the scenes within the prison system, it appears he was never actually released by mistake, but was incorrectly included in the count of those who had been.
Whether this miscounted inmate remains in custody or was discharged at the appropriate time remains uncertain.
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