Two inmates have been mistakenly released from HMP Wandsworth, triggering a manhunt and crisis talks between the Justice Ministry and prison governors. Brahim Kaddour-Cherif, an Algerian national serving time for trespass with intent to steal and previously convicted of indecent exposure, was freed on October 29. Billy Smith, sentenced to 45 months for fraud offenses, walked out on Monday after a clerical error listed his sentence as suspended.
Both men remain at large. Kaddour-Cherif is understood to be in the deportation process after overstaying his visa. Smith has links to the Woking area. Metropolitan Police were only notified of Kaddour-Cherif's release on Tuesday.
System in Crisis
The incidents expose deep failures in Britain's prison system. Erroneous releases surged 128% in the year to March 2025, with 262 prisoners wrongly freed compared to 115 the previous year. HMP Wandsworth was placed into special measures last year.
Justice minister Alex Davies-Jones told the BBC digital experts are being deployed to replace the paper-based prisoner record system. «We are deploying tech experts to try and help our brilliant men and women who work in our prisons, because they are working with reams and reams of paper in the 21st century, which is totally unacceptable,» she said. Davies-Jones, who described herself as "furious," told Times Radio: «It's not going to be fixed overnight, sadly, I don't have a magic wand, but we are putting plans in place to actually fix the issues.»
Political Fallout
Justice Secretary David Lammy faces mounting criticism over his handling of Kaddour-Cherif's release. The Times newspaper reported he was briefed and prepared a statement but did not deliver it, with aides believing addressing Parliament would be "career suicide." The story broke as Prime Minister's Questions ended, with Lammy filling in for Sir Keir Starmer. A statement released on his behalf said he was «absolutely outraged.»
Shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick told the BBC's Today programme: «Does anyone today,... have confidence in David Lammy, I don't. Does anyone? The Justice Secretary's got to get a grip.» Earlier on ITV's Good Morning Britain, he called the government's response «total bullshit.» A Ministry of Justice spokesman told The Times: «The crisis in the prison system this Government inherited is such that basic information about individual cases can take unacceptably long to reach ministers.»
Note: This article was created with Artificial Intelligence (AI).
