David Lammy has confirmed 12 more prisoners have been released in error over the last three weeks.
Speaking on BBC Breakfast on Tuesday morning, the justice secretary confirmed there have been 12 erroneous releases, two of whom remain at large, since he made a statement to the House of Commons on 12 November.
He also told Sky News that of the 12 released, there are two “violent offenders or sex offenders”, both of whom remain at large.
Mr Lammy refused to go into detail on the cases, saying public knowledge of crucial information could frustrate police attempts to “nab them”. The Ministry of Justice also refused to reveal any further information about the prisoners or where they had been incarcerated.
He told BBC Breakfast: “Well, I said to parliament a few weeks ago, I released data at that point, and there had been 91 releases in error up to that point, there have been 12 since then, two are currently at large.”
He told Sky News he would “not give a running commentary”, adding the data “should be released the way it has always been released”.
When pressed, Mr Lammy said there had been two further releases of violent offenders or sex offenders and confirmed they are still at large, but insisted the “trend is moving downwards”.
It comes after a series of high-profile prisoner releases, including that of Epping sex offender Hadush Kebatu, who was mistakenly released when he should have been taken to a detention centre in October. His 14-year-old victim said she felt “so scared and so anxious” in a statement following the blunder.
Shortly after, an Algerian sex offender and a fraudster from HMP Wandsworth were also accidentally freed, leaving police scrambling. Both have since been taken back into custody.
A total of 91 prisoners have been freed by mistake between 1 April and 31 October this year – the equivalent of around three per week, according to the latest Ministry of Justice figures published last month.
Downing Street previously admitted the figures are “shocking”, and said they are “symptomatic of a system that the government inherited” from the Conservatives.
Mr Lammy said that there is a “mountain to climb” to tackle the crisis in the prison system. Stronger security checks were announced for prisons and an independent investigation was launched into releases in error after Kebatu was freed from HMP Chelmsford.
Speaking at the time, the Prison Officers’ Association said staff have been under “immense pressure” to recalculate sentences following the introduction of multiple early release schemes to ease overcrowding in recent years.
The Labour government introduced a scheme in 2024 which allowed some offenders to be freed after serving 40 per cent of their sentence, rather than 50 per cent. It followed the Tories’ End of Custody Supervised Licence (ECSL) scheme, which freed some prisoners 35 or 70 days early.
National chair Mark Fairhurst said the mistakes at Wandsworth were the result of “clerical errors”, adding: “The Prison Officers’ Association has repeatedly warned of the mounting pressures on staff and the outdated administrative systems across our prisons.
“It has taken far too long for senior leaders and politicians to acknowledge these issues and take meaningful action.
“Prisons throughout the country are underfunded, understaffed and operating under relentless strain. Dedicated staff are doing their utmost, but too often they are left without the proper support, training or technology to do their jobs safely and effectively.”
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