Justice Secretary David Lammy admitted there was a “mountain to climb” to tackle the crisis in the prison system following the arrest of wrongly-released Brahim Kaddour-Cherif.
Algerian national Kaddour-Cherif, 24, was arrested more than a week after the blunder which saw him released from HMP Wandsworth in London.
The Metropolitan Police said he was detained after he was spotted by a member of the public in Blackstock Road, Finsbury Park, north London, just before 11.30am on Friday.
“Officers responded immediately and he was arrested,” the force said.
UPDATE: Officers have arrested Brahim Kaddour Cherif who was released in error from HMP Wandsworth on 29 October.
— Metropolitan Police (@metpoliceuk) November 7, 2025
Cherif was spotted by a member of the public in Blackstock Road, Islington just before 11.30am. Officers responded immediately and he was arrested.
Kaddour-Cherif was accidentally freed on October 29 but police were only informed of the mistake on Tuesday, prompting a high-profile manhunt.
He was serving a sentence for trespass with intent to steal, but had previously been convicted for indecent exposure.
Mr Lammy said: “We inherited a prison system in crisis and I’m appalled at the rate of releases in error this is causing.
“I’m determined to grip this problem, but there is a mountain to climb which cannot be done overnight.
“That is why I have ordered new tough release checks, commissioned an independent investigation into systemic failures and begun overhauling archaic paper-based systems still used in some prisons.”
