Six inmates have reportedly been mistakenly let out of prison as part of a scheme to help jails deal with the coronavirus.
The Prison Service said it was aware of a “small number” of low-risk offenders who were freed too early.
Up to 4,000 prisoners in England and Wales were to be temporarily released from jail in an effort to try to control the spread of coronavirus.
Launching the scheme at the start of the month, the Ministry of Justice said the selected low-risk offenders would be electronically tagged and temporarily released on licence in stages, although they could be recalled at the first sign of concern.
It was seen as a way to avoid thousands of prisoners, many of whom share cells, from becoming infected.
But the BBC said the scheme would be temporarily halted after the accidental early release of inmates from two open prisons in Gloucestershire and Derbyshire.
The Prison Service attributed blame to human error and said processes would be changed.
A spokesman said: “We are aware of a small number of low-risk offenders who were released from prison under the temporary early release scheme following an administrative error.
“The men were released too early but were otherwise eligible under the scheme, and returned compliantly to prison when asked to do so.
“We have strengthened the administrative processes around the scheme to make sure this does not happen again.”
