More strain on David Lammy because it’s revealed a file 90 violent or intercourse offenders have been free of jail by mistake in previous yr
David Lammy was facing more pressure last night after it was revealed 90 violent or sex offenders have been released from prison by mistake in the last year.
The number of bungled releases mark the highest on record, and eight times the figure from the year before, when 11 were freed in error.
It comes as pressure has already been mounting on Justice Secretary Mr Lammy, who yesterday insisted he stonewalled MPs over prisoner release failings because he ‘didn’t have all the facts’.
He also accepted there is ‘a mountain to climb’ before the prisons crisis is resolved – while Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer defended his deputy but insisted he is ‘angry and frustrated’ over the mistakes.
Brahim Kaddour-Cherif, a 24-year-old Algerian sex offender, is on the run after being mistakenly released from HMP Wandsworth more than a week ago.
Meanwhile, 35-year-old fraudster William Smith – another prisoner wrongly released at the same jail – handed himself back in yesterday morning.
Mr Lammy said Kaddour-Cherif was mistakenly released before new checks were implemented, although he told the Commons last Monday those checks were effective immediately, two days before the wrongful release.
David Lammy was facing more pressure last night after it was revealed 90 violent or sex offenders have been released from prison by mistake in the last year
Ministry of Justice (MoJ) data shows the number of violent offenders wrongly released increased from nine in 2023/2024 to 87 in the year to March 2025, The Telegraph first revealed.
And the number of sex offenders freed by mistake was three, an increase from two the previous year.
The number of thieves or burglars wrongly let go rose from 17 to 52, while those behind bars for possession of weapons also increased from five to 18.
The Daily Mail has contacted the Ministry of Justice for comment.
Robert Jenrick, the shadow justice secretary, said: ‘This fiasco is entirely of Labour’s making. As the former chief inspector of prisons has said, this has been caused in part by Labour’s disastrous early release scheme.
‘Calamity Lammy is completely out of his depth and has no plan to fix it.’
Sir Keir yesterday defended his deputy Mr Lammy over the prisoner release bungles – but insisted he is ‘angry and frustrated’ over the mistakes.
Asked whether Mr Lammy was telling the truth on Monday or in his latest comments, Sir Keir told broadcasters: ‘David Lammy can speak for himself on that.
‘And I’m absolutely clear that he’s setting out the facts to the best of his knowledge, and that’s the right thing for him to do. But whatever the checks, it’s intolerable.’
The Prime Minister added: ‘There’s a huge burden on the prison service because of the failures of the last government, but we’ve now got to pick this up, roll up our sleeves.
‘Let me just say how angry and frustrated I am that these mistakes have been made in releasing people.’
Mr Lammy squirmed as he insisted he stonewalled MPs over prisoner release errors because he ‘didn’t have all the facts’.
Sir Keir Starmer defended his deputy Mr Lammy over prisoner release bungles – but insisted he is ‘angry and frustrated’ over the mistakes
The Justice Secretary floundered as he was grilled for the first time since his extraordinary dodging of questions in the Commons on Wednesday.
Stressing he had only been in the job ‘two months’, Mr Lammy said he was not told about the latest case of an offender being released in error until the morning before he stood in at PMQs.
That is despite suggestions officials were discussing the situation with the police on Tuesday evening.
Speaking on a visit to HMP Gartree in Leicestershire, Mr Lammy also seemed to muddle dates by suggesting new checks on releases had not been introduced before the latest incident.
Asked why he had refused to engage with direct questions in the House, Mr Lammy said: ‘I first found out about this on Wednesday morning. I was in the department, both learning from officials, but also preparing for Prime Minister’s Questions.
‘At the despatch box, I did not have all of the detail. That detail was actually released just later, after I had finished at Prime Minister’s Questions.
‘I took the judgement that it is important when updating the House and the country about serious matters like this, that you have all of the detail.
‘I was not equipped with all of the detail. And the danger is that you end up misleading the House and the general public. So that is the judgement I took. I think it’s the right judgement.’
Mr Lammy also said he was ‘as shocked as anyone’ at the amount of mistaken prison releases, as he vowed to ‘leave no stone unturned’ to fix the problem.
