A MANHUNT is under way after a foreign prisoner was mistakenly released from Wandsworth prison in southwest London on October 29.
The prisoner, 24-year-old Algerian Brahim Kaddour-Cherif, was released days after new checks were introduced following a similar error the previous week, reported The Times.
The incident came after the mistaken release on October 24 of Hadush Kebatu, an Ethiopian migrant convicted of sex offences, from Chelmsford prison in Essex. Kebatu was arrested in London 48 hours later and has been deported.
The Ministry of Justice was understood to have been informed on Tuesday. Lammy, who stood in for Keir Starmer at prime minister’s questions on Wednesday, repeatedly refused to answer questions about the case.
He later said he was “absolutely outraged and appalled by the mistaken release of a foreign criminal wanted by the police” and that “officials have been working through the night to take him back to prison”.
Lammy was understood to have declined to confirm the release because information was still emerging and the Metropolitan Police had not yet issued a statement. The Met said the release was reported to them only on Tuesday.
The prime minister’s spokesman said “one mistaken release is too many” and added that the case would be included in Dame Lynne Owens’s review into the Kebatu incident.
New checks were introduced on October 27, requiring duty governors to inspect release checklists, a role previously handled by less senior staff. Lammy had highlighted the measures at PMQs.
