Police are hunting 24-year-old Brahim Kaddour-Cherif, an Algerian national, after he was released from HMP Wandsworth in south-west London in error. The release happened on 29 October, but the information was not reported to the Metropolitan Police until 4 November. Officers are carrying out urgent enquiries to locate him and return him to custody.

Separately, Hadush Kebatu, a migrant, was wrongly released from HMP Chelmsford on 24 October. The Met said the prisoner released in error from Wandsworth on 29 October is a 24-year-old Algerian. The incident has prompted stronger security checks in prisons and the launch of an independent investigation led by Dame Lynne Owens into releases in error.

Reaction from politicians and officials followed. Deputy Prime Minister and Justice Secretary David Lammy said victims deserve better and ordered the independent inquiry. He also indicated that further details would be addressed in due course as information remained incomplete. The shadow home secretary, Chris Philp, described the episode as shocking. Mark Fairhurst, chair of the Prison Officers’ Association, urged leaders to reassure staff that such mistakes will not happen. The chief inspector of prisons, Charlie Taylor, said such errors reflect broader systemic problems. Official figures published in July show 262 prisoners were released in error in the year to March 2025, up from 115 in the previous 12 months.