Police search for two men mistakenly released from London prison

Police are searching for two prisoners released separately by mistake from a London prison last week.

Brahim Kaddour-Cherif, an Algerian sex offender, faces deportation from the UK and was mistakenly released from Wandsworth Prison on October 29.

Convicted fraudster William Smith was mistakenly released days later on November 3.

This comes just weeks after migrant sex offender Hadush Kebatu, who arrived in the UK on a small boat, was mistakenly released from HMP Chelmsford in Essex.

This leaves Justice Secretary David Lammy under fire, having promised to implement additional checks to prevent similar cases after Kebatu’s release.

During Prime Minister’s Questions, Lammy, standing in for Sir Keir Starmer, was repeatedly asked if any criminal asylum seekers had been accidentally released from prison since Kebatu was released, but he refused to answer.

As PMQs ended, the Metropolitan Police issued a statement revealing that a foreign prisoner had been mistakenly released last Wednesday, and the force was informed on Tuesday.

Police later confirmed the man was Kaddour-Cherif, 24, and believed he had links to Tower Hamlets and Westminster in London.

The BBC has been told he is not an asylum seeker and that Lammy was informed overnight about the accidental release.

It is understood Kaddour-Cherif entered the UK legally on a visit visa in 2019, but overstayed his visa with a “likely overstay” case created in 2020.

At Prime Minister’s Questions, Shadow Defense Secretary James Cartlidge, standing in for Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch, repeatedly asked the same question which Lammy did not answer and instead attacked the Conservative government’s record on prisons.

Afterwards, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Justice said: “On entering the Chamber [of Commons]Data on the case was still emerging and the deputy prime minister had not been accurately informed of key details, including the offender’s immigration status.

“The DPM waited until the PMQs and other facts emerged before making a statement.”

After the Metropolitan Police announced Kaddour-Cherif’s mistaken release, Lammy issued a statement saying he was “absolutely outraged and shocked”.

“Victims deserve better and the public deserves answers.

“That is why I have already implemented the strictest controls ever to clamp down on such failures and have ordered an independent investigation, led by Dame Lynne Owens, to find out what went wrong and address the rise in accidental releases that has persisted for too long.”

Conservative shadow home secretary Chris Philp said: “It is shocking that once again the Labor government has wrongly allowed a foreign criminal to be released from prison.”

“This makes a mockery of Lammy’s claims in PMQs to have introduced the ‘tightest controls ever’ upon his release.”

Lib Dems justice spokeswoman Jess Brown-Fuller called for “a full explanation as to how this has happened again.”

Reform UK said it was “gravely concerned that the deputy prime minister inadvertently misled” the House of Commons.

Andrew Slaughter, a Labor MP and chair of Parliament’s Justice Committee, said the prison system had been “underinvested” and faced “overcrowding and understaffing within a decaying prison characterized by chaos and instability”.

Hours after the Metropolitan Police’s announcement, Surrey Police said another man, William Smith, had also been mistakenly released from Wandsworth prison last week.

In a Facebook post, Surrey Police said Smith had been sentenced to 45 months for “multiple fraud offences” on Monday, but had been released later that day.

The BBC understands that Smith was wrongly recorded as receiving a suspended sentence rather than a custodial sentence.

The error was corrected by the court but the amendment was sent to the wrong person.

Smith is described as white, bald and clean-shaven, police say, adding: “Smith was last seen wearing a navy blue long-sleeve jersey with Nike branding on the front in white, navy blue sweatpants with Nike branding in white on the left pocket, and black sneakers.”

Police urged the public to get in touch if they had any information.

According to the latest figures, some 262 prisoners in England and Wales were wrongly released in the year to March 2025, up 128% from 115 the previous year.

Staff at HMP Wandsworth told the BBC the prison has been in a state of panic after the accidental release.

Security has been a major concern at the prison for some time. An inspection report last year found chaos behind the scenes, with staff in most units unable to confirm where all their prisoners were during the workday.

In 2023, Daniel Khalife escaped from HMP Wandsworth while awaiting trial for spying for Iran.