What we know about prisoners at Wandsworth Prison mistakenly released
ReutersA manhunt is underway after two men were mistakenly released from London’s Wandsworth Prison last week.
The first, published last Wednesday, was of Brahim Kaddour-Cherif, a 24-year-old Algerian man and sex offender.
The second is William Smith, who was jailed for fraud on Monday and later released by mistake.
This follows the accidental release of immigrant sex offender Hadush Kebatu last month. Described as “human error” At HMP Chelmsford.
Here’s what we know.
What happened?
The Metropolitan Police said Brahim Kaddour-Cherif was “mistakenly released” seven days ago on Wednesday 29 October.
The force said HMP Wandsworth was not made aware of the error until Tuesday, November 4.
A police spokesman said: “Officers are carrying out urgent inquiries to locate and detain him.”
Then on Monday Surrey Police appealed for help to find 35-year-old William Smith, who was mistakenly released from Wandsworth on the same day he was sentenced to 45 months in prison for multiple fraud offences.
Who is Brahim Kaddour-Cherif?
Brahim Kaddour-Cherif is a 24-year-old Algerian man and not an asylum seeker.
The Met confirmed he was a registered sex offender and in November 2024 he was found guilty of indecent exposure in relation to an incident in March that year.
He was sentenced to 18 months in prison and placed on the sex offenders’ register for five years.
Police said the man was believed to have links to Tower Hamlets and was also known to frequent the Westminster area.
It is understood that Kaddour-Cherif entered the UK legally on a visitor visa but overstayed this period and is in the early stages of the deportation process.
Metropolitan PoliceWho is William Smith?
Surrey Police said William Smith, who goes by the name Billy, was released on Monday.
He was sentenced to 45 months in prison for multiple fraud offenses at Croydon Crown Court on Monday, where he appeared via live video link from HMP Wandsworth.
Smith is described by police as white, bald and clean shaven.
He was last seen wearing a navy blue long-sleeved sweater with the Nike brand ‘tick’ on the front, navy blue tracksuit bottoms with a white Nike ‘tick’ on the left pocket, and black sneakers.
Police said Smith was linked to Woking but could be anywhere in Surrey.
Surrey PoliceHow were they accidentally released?
At this stage we know very little about why and how they were accidentally released.
We also do not know why the error in Kaddur-Sharif’s release was not reported to the police for almost a week.
Many prison sources say the release process is complex and bureaucratic, and mistakes are sometimes made, including in calculations of time served.
How did the news come out?
During Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs), Justice Secretary and Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy, who replaced Sir Keir Starmer, was repeatedly asked by shadow justice secretary James Cartlidge whether any other asylum-seeking criminals had been accidentally released from prison since Epping sex offender Hadush Kebatu last month.
Lammy repeatedly refused to answer the question directly, but towards the end of the session it was revealed that a prisoner had been released by mistake. This was in reference to Kaddour-Cherif.
BBC political editor Chris Mason said he was told Lammy was aware of the incident going into PMQs, but it was not known whether the man was an asylum seeker.
What happened when?
29 October: Brahim Kaddour-Cherif accidentally released from HMP Wandsworth
November 3: William Smith was sentenced to 45 months in prison. Later the same day he is mistakenly released from HMP Wandsworth.
4 November at 13:00: Six days later the Prison Service notified the Metropolitan Police that the prisoner had been released in error on 29 October.
Nights until November 5: Justice Minister David Lammy briefed on accidental release
At around 11:45 on November 5: Conservatives reportedly learned mistakenly released prisoner was free
5 November at 12:00: Lammy repeatedly refused to answer questions from shadow justice secretary James Cartlidge about whether other asylum seekers had been released by mistake since a sex offender case came to light in Epping last month.
5 November 12:43: Cartlidge tells House of Commons a second detained asylum seeker was released by mistake – Lammy refuses to respond
5 November 13:41: Lammy released a statement saying he was “outraged and appalled by the foreign criminal wanted by the police” and promised an “immediate manhunt” would be launched
5 November 16:43: The Metropolitan Police appealed for Kaddour-Cherif and said “urgent” investigations were continuing
What was said about this?
Although he did not comment directly on the case during subsequent PMQs, Justice Secretary David Lammy said he was “absolutely outraged” and his officials were “working through the night to address the matter”. [Kaddour-Cherif] Go back to prison”.
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said it was “once again shocking that the Labor government has mistakenly allowed a foreign criminal to be released from prison”.
He added that Lammy’s appearance at the PMQ was “nothing short of a disgrace” and accused him of being “dishonest” with the public and parliament.
Sir Keir Starmer’s spokesman said the latest error was “unacceptable” and would be investigated.
The Liberal Democrats’ justice spokesman Jess Brown-Fuller is calling on Lammy to return to the House of Commons and explain “why he cannot answer” about whether another prisoner was mistakenly released during PMQs.
Reform England leader Nigel Farage described the incident as “nonsense”.
Rosena Allin-Khan, Labor MP for Tooting, where the prison is located, said: “Local people will rightly be deeply concerned. We urgently need answers from the government and the Ministry of Justice about how this was allowed to happen.”
What do we know about HMP Wandsworth?
Wandsworth Prison is a Victorian facility in South London.
Built in 1851, the complex was originally built to house fewer than 1,000 inmates.
A report published by the prison’s independent monitoring board in August 2024 revealed that the number of inmates in the “cramped and poorly maintained” prison had risen to 1,513.
“The wings were chaotic and staff in most units were unable to verify the whereabouts of all inmates during the working day,” the report said.
The board added that prisoner lists could not be checked because staff were unable to provide accurate numbers, and a third of officers were not ready for operational duty on any given day due to illness, limited duties or training.
In April, HM Inspectorate of Prisons noted that the population had fallen by 150 people and that other “limited and fragile” improvements had been made.
Prison was in the headlines in 2023 former British soldier Daniel Khalife He escaped by getting stuck under the truck.
