The United Kingdom government is under pressure after a series of wrongful releases of prisoners exposed deep flaws in the justice and security systems. The Justice Secretary called the situation “unacceptable” as the government struggles to contain the fallout. 

The crisis began with the accidental release of Hadush Kebatu, an Ethiopian asylum seeker convicted of sexual offenses. Her release last month triggered protests outside a hotel housing asylum seekers.

The controversy deepened when two more inmates were mistakenly freed, including Algerian national Brahim Kaddour-Cherif, a registered sex offender who remains at large. 

Manhunt is underway looking for Brahim Kaddour-Cherif who was released by HMP Wandsworth by mistake. pic.twitter.com/qr58xAu9xQ

— London & UK Street News (@CrimeLdn) November 5, 2025

Deputy Prime Minister and Justice Secretary David Lammy told Parliament that new measures were being implemented. “The rise in wrongful releases is unacceptable. We are modernizing our prison systems and replacing paper with digital tools to reduce errors,” Lammy posted on X. 

Opposition leaders accused the government of negligence. “It’s an utter disaster. This is the third time in two weeks that offenders have been mistakenly released,” said Robert Jenrick, the Conservative Party’s justice spokesperson. 

Official figures show that 262 prisoners were wrongly released between March 2024 and March 2025—double the 115 reported the previous year and the fourth consecutive annual increase.

The prison population in England and Wales has doubled over the past 30 years, forcing the government to extend early-release programs to prevent overcrowding. 

Deputy Justice Minister Alex Davies-Jones blamed “14 years of chronic austerity and underfunding” for the situation. Meanwhile, a group representing prison governors warned that the deteriorating state of the prison system made “such mistakes not just possible but inevitable.”