Overview
- Prison Officers’ Association says five prisoners were wrongly released in the past seven days across HMP Durham, The Mount, Reading Crown Court, and two cases at HMP Pentonville.
- Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy has ordered immediate nationwide safeguards, requiring a duty governor to be present for releases of foreign offenders being removed early for deportation and a governor-signed checklist before any release.
- An independent investigation into the erroneous release of Hadush Kebatu is underway, chaired by Dame Lynne Owens.
- Hadush Kebatu, convicted of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl and a woman, was mistakenly freed from HMP Chelmsford and later arrested in Finsbury Park after a two-day search.
- One officer has been suspended in the Kebatu case, the MOJ says no suspensions relate to the other recent errors, and officials cite a rise to 262 releases-in-error in the year to March 2025 as the backdrop while declining to confirm the Durham prisoner’s status as MP Mary Kelly Foy seeks assurances.