Major update on Algerian sex offender mistakenly released from London prison | UK | News
Algerian sex offender Brahim Kaddour-Cherif has been arrested following a massive manhunt launched following his mistaken release from a London prison. The scandal has sparked a fresh crisis of confidence in Sir Keir Starmer’s government.
Kaddour-Cherif was arrested in Islington, north London, on November 7, ending a massive manhunt launched earlier this week. The Algerian criminal was serving a sentence at HMP Wandsworth for trespass with intent to steal. He was convicted of indecent exposure in November 2024, relating to an incident in March that year. Kaddour-Cherif was given an 18-month community order and placed on the sex offenders register for five years.
It is understood the Algerian national was mistakenly released from a London prison after an email was sent to the wrong prison on October 29. However, police said they were only notified of the error on November 4.
Speaking about the arrest, a Scotland Yard spokesman said: “At 11.23am on Friday, November 7, a call was received from a member of the public reporting that a man they believed to be Brahim Kaddour-Cherif had been seen near Capital City College on Blackstock Road in Islington.
“Officers immediately responded and detained a man matching Cherif’s description at 11.30am. His identity was confirmed and he was arrested as an unlawful fugitive.
“He was also arrested on suspicion of assaulting an emergency worker in connection with an earlier unrelated incident. He was taken into police custody. The Prison Service was notified.”
Following the arrest of the foreign prisoner who was mistakenly released from HMP Wandsworth, Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy said: “I can confirm that Brahim Kaddour-Cherif has been recaptured and is back in custody.
“I would like to thank the police and staff of HMPPS who work 24 hours a day.
“We inherited a prison system in crisis, and I am appalled by the erroneous release rates it has caused.
“I am determined to tackle this problem, but it cannot be solved overnight, there is a mountain to climb.
“So I ordered strict new release controls, launched an independent investigation into systemic failures and began overhauling the old paper-based systems still used in some prisons.”
