At a glance
•Convicted sex offender Brahim Kaddour-Cherif, 24, was mistakenly freed from HMP Wandsworth on 29 October while awaiting trial for burglary; the error was only discovered by the court when it tried to arrange a videolink for a hearing.
•Earlier this year, Kaddour-Cherif had also been released on immigration bail after serving a short prison sentence. Judge Dean observed in court that the sentence he received, an 18-month community order, would have put him in line to have a dedicated supervising probation officer.
•His case is one of several recent wrongful prisoner releases that have embarrassed the government, prompting a review of the release system and political criticism of Justice Secretary David Lammy, amid figures showing a 128% rise in mistaken releases over the past year.
A convicted sex offender on the loose after accidentally being set free from prison had been released on bail from an immigration centre this summer, a court has heard.
Brahim Kaddour-Cherif, 24, was accidentally released from HMP Wandsworth on Wednesday, 29 October, when he was supposed to be in custody awaiting a trial.
The incident is hugely embarrassing for the government, coming shortly after Epping hotel migrant Hadush Kebatu was wrongly set free from prison last month, and in the same week that HMP Wandsworth accidentally set free another inmate, convicted fraudster William Smith.
At Snaresbrook crown court on Thursday, Judge Rosa Dean oversaw a hearing in Kaddour-Cherif’s case, while he was absent from the dock.
She revealed that Kaddour-Cherif, a migrant, had been taken to an immigration centre in June, but he had soon been set free on immigration bail.
The judge admonished prosecutors for not being properly prepared for the court hearing, and demanded to know if Kaddour-Cherif has any other criminal cases pending.
And the judge set out that the court, which had ordered Kaddour-Cherif’s remand in custody, only found out about the release blunder on Tuesday, when it attempted to set up a prison videolink for Thursday’s court appearance.
“This was listed today for a further case management hearing, with the defendant to be produced”, the judge explained.
“The purpose of today was for arraignment, and Judge Canavan had given the defendant an opportunity to seek legal representation.
“The case was first here on March 23 for burglary and he was on bail. The court wasn’t told he was in custody on other matters, so we did not make progress.
“At a hearing on May 15, the defendant at Wormwood Scrubs refused to attend on the prison videolink. The case was put back to June 13.
“On June 2, he was sentenced by Southwark crown court for six weeks, and he didn’t then come here on June 13. It went back for bail to June 29.
“On June 29, we were told the defendant had been released from custody, having served the Southwark sentence.
“He had gone to an immigration centre, and they had released him on immigration bail.”
The Metropolitan Police, which is leading the manhunt for Kaddour-Cherif, has revealed that he is a convicted sex offender, having admitted flashing in a London park.
Judge Dean observed in court that the sentence he received, an 18-month community order, would have put him in line to have a dedicated supervising probation officer. He is also a registered sex offender.
She continued that Kaddour-Cherif’s latest criminal case was delayed until September, when he appeared in the dock.
Judge Canavan remanded him in custody until March next year, and a trial date for the burglary charge was set.
“On November 4, when the list officer tried to book a prison videolink slot, they were notified by Wandsworth (prison) that he had been released”, said the judge.
She then asked: “Does the defendant have any other matters in other courts?”
When the prosecuting barrister struggled to answer, the judge put the case back until later in the afternoon.
“I rather assumed you would be given better instructions”, she added.
“I would like you to go away and tell me of any other matters.
“If there aren’t any, I’m simply going to adjourn to January 6, and hopefully between now and then the defendant will have been arrested and be back in custody.”
Kaddour-Cherif – appearing on the court list under the name Ibrahim – has not yet entered a plea to the burglary charge.
Smith handed himself in to the prison on Thursday to continue serving his sentence, and was filmed smiling as he entered through the prison gates.
Justice ministers have spent this week scrambling to get a grip of the unfolding prison crisis.
Justice minister Alex Davies-Jones summoned prison chiefs for a meeting on Thursday, and a review of the release system is underway.
The mistaken release of Kaddour-Cherif was reported to the Met Police on Tuesday. Justice Secretary David Lammy has been under fire for his response to the chaos, including when he failed to address it when filling in at Prime Ministers Questions on Wednesday.
The Met says Kaddour-Cherif entered the UK legally on a visit visa in 2019, but became eligible for deportation in 2020 after overstaying his visa.
According to government figures published in July, 262 prisoners were released in error in the year to March 2025 – a 128% increase on 115 in the previous 12 months.
