The government has pledged it is now 'gripping' the escalating prisons crisis, following the revelation that the number of inmates being mistakenly freed has risen to an alarming new high.
Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy stated the situation was 'completely unacceptable' during an interview with Sky News, confirming that the average monthly figure for wrongful releases has increased under the current administration.
A Surge in Mistaken Releases
Ms Nandy revealed that the number of prisoners wrongly released has climbed to 22 per month, up from an average of 17 per month under the previous Conservative government. This admission comes in the wake of two high-profile cases that brought the issue to the forefront of public attention.
Algerian sex offender Brahim Kaddour-Cherif was mistakenly freed from HMP Wandsworth and was recaptured on Friday, an event witnessed by Sky News. In a separate incident, another inmate, Billy Smith, handed himself in to authorities after being wrongly released.
These cases occurred just days after Justice Secretary David Lammy had promised to implement further checks on prisoner releases, following the mistaken release of migrant sex offender Hadush Kebatu.
Government's Response to the Crisis
In response to the growing scandal, Ms Nandy announced that Justice Secretary David Lammy has made a key appointment to tackle the problem head-on. Dame Lynne Owens, the former director of the National Crime Agency, has been tasked with leading the effort to resolve the systemic failures.
'Even one is too many,' Ms Nandy stated regarding the wrongful releases. 'The justice secretary is gripping this... to make sure that we really grip this.'
The overhaul will begin with an examination of the 'antiquated' paper-based system still in use across many prisons. The government's plan also includes building new prisons and introducing more rigorous checks to prevent future errors.
Defending the Justice Secretary
Ms Nandy also came to the defence of Mr Lammy, who faced criticism for not revealing his knowledge of Kaddour-Cherif's mistaken release during Prime Minister's Questions. The Conservatives had asked him five times if any more asylum seekers had been wrongly released after Kebatu.
She rejected claims that the Justice Secretary was 'being evasive,' suggesting instead that she saw him 'weighing up in his mind' what information to disclose. Ms Nandy clarified that Kaddour-Cherif was not an asylum seeker, which was the specific focus of the Tory questions.
'I really strongly feel that when you speak about matters of public importance, you have to take great care to make sure that information is completely accurate,' she added.
Mr Lammy is expected to deliver a formal statement to Parliament concerning the mistaken release of Brahim Kaddour-Cherif in the coming week.
