Overview
- David Lammy disclosed the new figure live on BBC Breakfast, updating viewers after pledging stronger checks last month.
- He said human error is inevitable while prisons rely on paper records and pledged a shift to a completely digital system.
- BBC chief political correspondent Henry Zeffman questioned Lammy’s assertion that the trend is decreasing based on the data given.
- Lammy later told ITV he had been reassured the two unaccounted-for prisoners are not violent or sex offenders.
- The update follows reports of 91 mistaken releases between April and October, with year-on-year totals reported to have risen from 115 to 262.