More than 90 prisoners freed by mistake since April

A total of 91 prisoners were freed by mistake between April and October this year, according to new government figures.

The data for England and Wales was published by the Ministry of Justice, as ministers face pressure over accidental releases after a number of high-profile cases in recent weeks.

Justice Secretary David Lammy told MPs the figures were "symptomatic of a prison system under a horrendous strain", saying the Labour government had inherited a "crisis" from the Conservatives.

But shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick said "the confusion created by Labour's botched early release scheme", which was brought in to ease prison overcrowding, was partly to blame.

The number of accidental releases has been increasing in recent years.

A total of 262 prisoners in England and Wales were freed by mistake in the 12 months to March, according to the latest annual figures, up 128% from 115 the previous year.

The latest data released by the Ministry of Justice covers a seven-month period between 1 April and 31 October.

The department said the figures cover any prisoner who is released when they should have remained in custody, where the individual or a third party did not deliberately play a role in the error.

It said the data was not directly comparable to annual figures, with the possibility of seasonal effects on releases and late recordings.

The department added that figures for recent months could change over time and in the past revisions "have tended to be upwards".

Giving a statement to the House of Commons after the figures were released, Lammy said: "I'm clear that we must bear down on these numbers, which are symptomatic of a prison system under a horrendous strain."

He told MPs the number of frontline prison officers had been cut by a quarter between 2010 and 2017, leaving fewer experienced staff.

"Unsurprisingly, mistakes happen in those circumstances," he added.

Lammy said the prison release process needed "a radical overhaul" and "only technology will fix this issue over time".

He set out a number of actions the government was taking, including:

• A team of data scientists to review historic accidental releases and understand systemic issues

• Up to £10m over six months for new AI tools to help reduce human error and upgrade "archaic" paper-based systems

• A new urgent courts hotline so prison staff can quickly check for outstanding warrants before offenders are released

• Simplifying release policy to standardise how cases are treated

It comes after the government launched an independent review of accidental releases, which is expected to report back in February next year.

In his statement, Lammy also gave more details about three prisoners released by mistake who are still at large.

The first was in jail for failure to surrender to the police and was released in error in December 2024.

The second was in prison for a drug offence and released in error in August 2024, while the third was in prison for aggravated burglary and released in error in June 2025.

One is a foreign national offender and the other two are British.

Lammy said His Majesty's Prison and Probation Service was also investigating a further case of a potential release in error on 3 November, who may still be at large.

Conservative shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick accused Lammy of presiding over "a complete and utter farce", saying he had "literally lost track of how many prisoners he's lost".

"The public are being put at risk," he said, adding that Lammy must "get a grip or go".

Jenrick, who had called for the latest figures to be released, said Lammy had to be dragged "kicking and screaming" to make them public.

He sought to blame Labour's early release scheme for creating "confusion" and contributing to the rise in prisoners being released by mistake.

The emergency scheme, which was introduced after prisons almost reached full capacity, allows some inmates to be released after serving 40% of their fixed-term sentence, rather than the usual 50%.

However, Lammy said the move was needed because the Conservatives had not built enough extra prison places when the party was in government.

Last week it emerged that two men had separately been released by mistake from HMP Wandsworth in the space of one week. Both men are now back in custody after police manhunts.

It came after migrant sex offender Hadush Kebatu, who arrived in the UK on a small boat, was mistakenly released from HMP Chelmsford in Essex last month.

Kebatu, who has now been deported, was living in an asylum hotel when he sexually assaulted a 14-year-old girl in Epping, triggering protests which spread across the country.

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