UK (Parliament Politics Magazine) – Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy says wrongful prisoner releases have increased and calls the situation “completely unacceptable,” pledging government action.
As reported by Sky News, Lisa Nandy said the government is “gripping” the prison crisis, calling the rise in mistaken prisoner releases “unacceptable.”
Algerian sex offender Brahim Kaddour-Cherif was detained on Friday, 7 November, as authorities confirmed that Billy Smith had later turned himself in.
What did Lisa Nandy say about rising mistaken prisoner releases?
Lisa Nandy said Justice Secretary and Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy has appointed a senior official to tackle the prison system after two wrongful prisoner releases were reported this week.
She said wrongful prisoner releases have increased under the current government, rising from 17 under the Conservatives to 22, a rise she called “completely unacceptable.”
Referring to wrongful prisoner releases, Ms Nandy stated,
“Even one is too many, and the justice secretary is gripping this by appointing Dame Lynne Owens, who is the former director of the National Crime Agency, to make sure that we really grip this.”
The culture secretary said reforms will start by replacing the “outdated” paper-based system and introducing stronger safeguards, including building new prisons and tightening release checks.
Ms Nandy rejected suggestions that Mr Lammy was “evasive”, saying he was considering his words carefully. She also pointed out that Conservatives had inaccurately described the released individual as an asylum seeker.
The culture secretary said,
“What I can tell you is that under the last government, for quite some time, there were, on average, 17 wrong releases. Under this government that has risen. It’s 22 – that is completely unacceptable. It was unacceptable before, it’s unacceptable now.”
She added,
“Even one is too many, and the justice secretary is gripping this by appointing Dame Lynne Owens, who is the former director of the National Crime Agency, to make sure that we really grip this, starting with the antiquated paper-based system that was developed in the 1980s that is still being used; building new prisons; and making sure that we have additional checks so that people aren’t wrongly released.”
Ms Nandy continued,
“I really strongly feel that if you, when you speak about matters of public importance, you have to take great care in order to make sure that that information is completely accurate.”
What did Charlie Taylor say about the rise in prisoner release errors?
Chief Inspector of Prisons Charlie Taylor said the wrongful release of two migrant offenders was linked to early release schemes introduced by both Labour and Tory governments to ease overcrowding.
He explained that the massive task of recalculating thousands of prisoners’ release dates under the scheme had shifted the burden onto overstretched staff, making errors inevitable.
Mr Taylor stated,
“The increasing frequency of these embarrassing and potentially dangerous mistakes is not just the result of an overcomplicated sentencing framework; it is a symptom of a system that is close to breaking point.”
He said prison problems had worsened due to drones bringing in drugs, and added that most inmates are denied work, training, or education that could help reduce reoffending.
Mr Taylor continued,
“Prisons have a duty to protect the public by locking up those who are sentenced by the courts, but they also have the responsibility to make those who are incarcerated less likely to reoffend when they come out – our prison service is failing on both counts.”
How did David Lammy respond to the accidental release of two sex offenders?
After Algerian sex offender Brahim Kaddour-Cherif was wrongly released from HMP Wandsworth 10 days ago, David Lammy had already introduced strict checks requiring governors to sign off on releases.
The Justice Secretary said,
“Ministers were understandably furious that two high-profile, migrant, sex offenders had recently been wrongly released from Wandsworth and Chelmsford prisons, but this was, in part, caused by this government’s and its predecessor’s response to the prison overcrowding crisis.”
Mr Lammy added,
“We inherited a prison system in crisis and I’m appalled at the rate of releases in error this is causing. I’m determined to grip this problem, but there is a mountain to climb, which cannot be done overnight.”
How many prisoners were mistakenly released in the UK in 2025?
A total of 262 prisoners were wrongly released in England and Wales in the year leading up to March 2025, which is more than double the 115 mistakenly released in the previous year.
At least four prisoners remain at large after being wrongly released, with ongoing police efforts to recapture them, alongside several high-profile cases of offenders mistakenly freed.
The Ministry of Justice said most offenders are quickly returned to custody, but the rising number of errors has caused significant public and political backlash.
