David Lammy DID lose a fourth prisoner as Labour crisis deepens

A fourth prisoner was mistakenly released and on the run for a week, it is understood.

David Lammy, during a fiery debate over the prison releases scandal, admitted another lag may have been wrongly let out.

Justice sources have today confirmed the unidentified criminal was mistakenly released - but stressed the convict has now been arrested.

Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick said: "Calamity Lammy didn't know his Department had lost a prisoner for over a week. He's asleep at the wheel.

"Since Lammy introduced his "strongest ever checks" three prisoners have been mistakenly released. They're failing and the British people are being put at risk on a nearly daily basis as a result. There's never been a better time to be a criminal.

"How can the Prime Minister have any confidence in Lammy to keep the public the safe?

"Why won't Lammy be honest with the public and say who this prisoner was and what his criminal record is? Yet again he's concealing the truth to limit his personal embarrassment."

No 10 has admitted it is "shocking" that 91 inmates have been wrongly set free since April this year as the Government faces mounting pressure over releases in error.

The data, released by the Ministry of Justice on Tuesday, shows 91 accidental releases took place between April 1 and October 31 this year.

The publication comes as Justice Secretary David Lammy faced fury from MPs after it was revealed two prisoners had been freed in error following the high-profile jail blunder of Hadush Kebatu, the now-deported migrant at the heart of protests in Epping, Essex.

A No 10 spokesman told reporters: "These numbers, they are symptomatic of a system that the Government inherited, of a prison system under severe strain, a failing criminal justice system.

"The public are right to be shocked by these cases. While they are rare, they have been rising year-on-year from an average of nine per month in 2023 to 17 per month the next year.

"And we're clear that you can't fix the prisons crisis overnight, but we have taken immediate action, including tougher new release checks, calling in prison governors, sending in tech experts."

Releases in error can include misplaced warrants for imprisonment or remand, sentence miscalculations or can be as a result of mistakes by courts or other authorities, the MoJ said.

Mr Lammy told MPs: "This was not a publication due today, but we recognise the public interest in being transparent about the overall number."

Mr Jenrick had pressed the case for the latest release in error figures, saying the accidental releases of Kebatu and the two prisoners that sparked manhunts were "just the tip of the iceberg", and that the British public deserves to have the "full picture".

"The public are being endangered as this circus rumbles on week after week, with no end in sight," Mr Jenrick said in the Commons on Tuesday, responding to Mr Lammy.

"As we all suspected, the crisis on his Government's watch is even bigger than he dared admit. That's why he wouldn't say anything last week."

Algerian national Brahim Kaddour-Cherif, 24, was accidentally freed from HMP Wandsworth in London on October 29, but was re-arrested on Friday after a police manhunt.

He was serving a sentence for trespass with intent to steal, but had previously been convicted for indecent exposure.

Another prisoner, Billy Smith, 35, convicted of fraud offences, was also accidentally freed from the same prison last Monday, but handed himself back in on Thursday.

Stronger security checks were announced for prisons and an independent investigation was launched into releases in error after Kebatu was accidentally freed on October 24, prompting a three-day manhunt.

The Ethiopian national had been jailed for sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl and a woman, but was freed by mistake instead of being sent to an immigration detention centre.

Some 262 inmates were mistakenly let out in the year to March 2025 - a 128% increase on the 115 in the previous 12 months, separate Government figures also show.

Mr Lammy confirmed in the Commons on Tuesday that the error leading to the mistaken release of Kaddour-Cherif happened in September, before the tougher security checks came in.

"He was charged with burglary at Snaresbrook Crown Court and a warrant was issued to HMP Pentonville for his remand," he told MPs.

"Contrary to the set down process, it was then forwarded by email to HMP Wandsworth when Mr Kaddour-Cherif was transferred, however, staff did not pick it up and he was released on October 29."