Billy Smith, 35, has surrendered himself to Surrey Police after being mistakenly released from Wandsworth prison on Monday. He is the second prisoner to be wrongly released within a week.
Justice Secretary and Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy said: “William Smith is back in custody. The spike in mistaken releases is unacceptable.”
The manhunt for convicted sex offender Brahim Kaddour-Cherif, 24, continues after his accidental release on the 29th of October.
Brahim Kaddour-Cherif – Met Police
Prison governors have been summoned for crisis talks later today and a team of digital experts have been tasked with overhauling the paper-based prisoner record system.
According to the Ministry of Justice, the number of prisoner release errors has more than doubled year on year.
Over 260 prisoners were released in error in the year leading up to March 2025 across England and Wales compared to 115 the year before.
Data on Prisoner Release Errors – Ministry of Justice
Lammy, who is under scrutiny for the spike in prisoner release errors, has assured that the Justice ministry is “modernising prison systems – replacing paper with digital tools to cut errors”.
He has admitted this afternoon at an event outside of HMP Gartree in Market Harborough, that he was “not equipped with all the detail” about the mistaken prisoner release when he spoke at Prime Minister’s Questions yesterday. Additionally, he conceded that the government still had a “mountain to climb” in tackling the prisons crisis.
Furthermore, when asked why he did not discuss Cherif’s release during PMQs, despite apparently being briefed the night before, Lammy said he “took the judgement” not to discuss it as he “did not have all of the detail”.
David Lammy at the Labour Party conference in Liverpool – AP Photo/Jon Super
The shadow justice secretary, Robert Jenrick, criticised Lammy for not addressing Cherif’s release during PMQs. He said the minister went “shopping for a suit, rather than taking charge of his department”, after it was revealed that Lammy went clothes shopping earlier that day.
Earlier today, Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch called Lammy’s performance at Prime Minister’s Questions “embarrassing,” and believes “it’s quite clear that he had answers which he refused to give”.
Badenoch stated that the erroneously released prisoners were mainly “foreign criminals, many of them sex offenders” and that “the scale at which it is happening is causing real worry”.
Kemi Badenoch, delivering a speech in London – AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth
When asked if the Deputy Prime Minister should resign, Badenoch said “let’s find out exactly what he knew, and when, and why he refused to answer a very, very simple question”.
This is a developing story, we will bring you more details as they come. Please refresh the page to update.
HeadlineWrongly Released Wandsworth Prisoner Hands Himself In
Short HeadlineWandsworth Prisoner Hands Himself In
StandfirstBilly Smith, 35, was released in error this Monday, shortly after being sentenced to 45 months for various fraud offences
Billy Smith, 35, has surrendered himself to Surrey Police after being mistakenly released from Wandsworth prison on Monday. He is the second prisoner to be wrongly released within a week.
Justice Secretary and Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy said: “William Smith is back in custody. The spike in mistaken releases is unacceptable.”
The manhunt for convicted sex offender Brahim Kaddour-Cherif, 24, continues after his accidental release on the 29th of October.
Brahim Kaddour-Cherif – Met Police
Prison governors have been summoned for crisis talks later today and a team of digital experts have been tasked with overhauling the paper-based prisoner record system.
According to the Ministry of Justice, the number of prisoner release errors has more than doubled year on year.
Over 260 prisoners were released in error in the year leading up to March 2025 across England and Wales compared to 115 the year before.
Data on Prisoner Release Errors – Ministry of Justice
Lammy, who is under scrutiny for the spike in prisoner release errors, has assured that the Justice ministry is “modernising prison systems – replacing paper with digital tools to cut errors”.
He has admitted this afternoon at an event outside of HMP Gartree in Market Harborough, that he was “not equipped with all the detail” about the mistaken prisoner release when he spoke at Prime Minister’s Questions yesterday. Additionally, he conceded that the government still had a “mountain to climb” in tackling the prisons crisis.
Furthermore, when asked why he did not discuss Cherif’s release during PMQs, despite apparently being briefed the night before, Lammy said he “took the judgement” not to discuss it as he “did not have all of the detail”.
David Lammy at the Labour Party conference in Liverpool – AP Photo/Jon Super
The shadow justice secretary, Robert Jenrick, criticised Lammy for not addressing Cherif’s release during PMQs. He said the minister went “shopping for a suit, rather than taking charge of his department”, after it was revealed that Lammy went clothes shopping earlier that day.
Earlier today, Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch called Lammy’s performance at Prime Minister’s Questions “embarrassing,” and believes “it’s quite clear that he had answers which he refused to give”.
Badenoch stated that the erroneously released prisoners were mainly “foreign criminals, many of them sex offenders” and that “the scale at which it is happening is causing real worry”.
Kemi Badenoch, delivering a speech in London – AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth
When asked if the Deputy Prime Minister should resign, Badenoch said “let’s find out exactly what he knew, and when, and why he refused to answer a very, very simple question”.
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