Two prisoners still at large after being freed by mistake in 2024

According to information obtained by the BBC, two prisoners who are still at large were accidentally released in 2024.

Two people who were mistakenly released in June 2025 are still missing.

Details of the four prisoners come as ministers face increasing pressure over a series of high-profile wrongful releases.

Two other men who were mistakenly released from Wandsworth prison were re-custodied this week following a police manhunt following the release of an immigrant sex offender in late October.

Algerian sex offender Brahim Kaddour-Cherif He was arrested on Friday after being released on October 29William Smith handed himself into a south London prison on Thursday.

Immigrant sex offender Hadush KebatuArriving in England on a small boat, he was mistakenly released from HMP Chelmsford in Essex.

A Ministry of Justice spokesperson told the BBC: “The vast majority of offenders who are wrongfully released are brought back to prison quickly and we will do everything we can to work with the police to catch the small number of people who are still in the community.”

Earlier, shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick said the unnamed prisoners exposed the “incompetence of this government”.

“It should not be left to journalists to uncover the truth. [Justice Secretary] “David Lammy must finally reveal how many prisoners were accidentally released and how many are still at large.”

A spokesman for the Liberal Democrats said “every resource” should be spent on finding prisoners.

Jess Brown-Fuller said: “This is a disgrace and a farce. There should be no need for the media to inform the public about prisoners being released after they were accidentally released.”