JUSTICE SECRETARY David Lammy said 12 prisoners had been released in error in the past three weeks, with two still missing.
The cases come after 91 mistaken releases recorded between April and October in England and Wales.
Lammy told the BBC there would always be “human error” while prisons used a paper-based system and said the situation would improve under a “completely digital system”.
He said there had been “a spike” in mistaken releases but it was now on “a downward trajectory”. He told ITV he had been “reassured” the two missing prisoners were not violent or sex offenders. “I’m not going to give details of those cases,” he said.
The issue gained attention after the mistaken release of Hadush Kebatu, who was re-arrested after two days and deported to Ethiopia. Two other men, William Smith and Brahim Kaddour-Cherif, were also released in error and later detained.
The latest cases occurred after November 11, when Lammy updated MPs on government steps, including new security measures. Mistaken releases rose by 128% last year. Lammy said the system had lost 6,000 officers under the previous government.
Robert Jenrick and Jess Brown-Fuller criticised the government. A review by Dame Lynne Owens is due in February 2026. Charlie Taylor said rising errors showed “something is going badly wrong”.
