Particle.news
Download on the App Store
82 ARTICLES
·
1h ago

Police Hunt Wandsworth Inmate Wrongly Freed as Second Case Surfaces

Fresh errors have renewed scrutiny of prison release checks.

A Serco security van enters HMP Wandsworth prison in London, UK, on Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024. The UK's new government said it will release low-risk prisoners after they've served 40% of their sentences, compared with 50% currently, as part of a bid to address an overcrowding crisis in the country's jails. Photographer: Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Image
Image
Image

Overview

  • Met officers are searching for 24-year-old Algerian Brahim Kaddour-Cherif, mistakenly released from HMP Wandsworth on October 29.
  • Scotland Yard was notified only on November 4, giving the offender a six-day head start, and police have issued a public appeal.
  • Kaddour-Cherif was serving time for trespass with intent to steal and is a registered sex offender with a prior indecent exposure conviction.
  • Surrey Police are also looking for Billy Smith, 35, who was wrongly freed from Wandsworth on Monday after being sentenced for multiple fraud offences.
  • Justice Secretary David Lammy said he is outraged, has tightened release checks, and ordered an independent review led by Dame Lynne Owens, with official data showing 262 erroneous releases in the year to March 2025.