Overview
- HM Courts & Tribunals Service mistakenly issued a grant-of-bail notice on February 6, leading to the defendant’s release from custody.
- The error arose from confusion with a separate case in which the defendant had bail, according to Judge Martin Edmunds KC.
- The defendant left for a European country using a passport from his country of origin and, with his British passport held by police, cannot currently obtain a visa to re-enter.
- A further hearing is scheduled for Tuesday to determine whether the proposed March trial can proceed and what arrangements could facilitate his return.
- HMCTS will investigate the mistake, and official figures show 262 erroneous prisoner releases in the year to March 2025; the defendant denies the charges and cannot be named.