Algerian Inmate Mistakenly Freed from London Prison
Metropolitan Police launch urgent manhunt after 24-year-old Algerian inmate is mistakenly released from HMP Wandsworth, highlighting rising errors in the UK prison system
- Algerian inmate accidentally released from HMP Wandsworth on October 29, 2025
- Metropolitan Police conducting urgent manhunt to recapture him
- Prison system errors rising, with 262 mistaken releases in England and Wales in the past year
British police have launched an urgent manhunt after a 24-year-old Algerian man was mistakenly released from HMP Wandsworth in London last Wednesday, marking the second such blunder in just over a month.
The Metropolitan Police confirmed that they were alerted by the Prison Service on Tuesday, November 4, about the erroneous release. Officers have since begun intensive efforts to trace and return the inmate to custody.
The incident comes weeks after Ethiopian national Hadush Kebatu — a convicted sex offender — was wrongly released despite serving a sentence for sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl and a woman in an asylum hotel.
During Prime Minister’s Questions, Justice Secretary David Lammy faced repeated questioning about whether other offenders had been released in error but dodged the inquiries, instead criticising the Conservative Party’s handling of the prison system.
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander described the latest case as “deeply concerning,” insisting that “one mistaken release is one too many.” She added that the Justice Secretary would be demanding answers from officials at the Ministry of Justice.
A Downing Street spokesperson called the case “utterly unacceptable,” acknowledging that Britain’s prison system needs urgent reform to prevent further administrative failures.
Recent figures reveal that 262 prisoners were mistakenly released across England and Wales in the year to March 2025 — a staggering 128% rise from the previous year.
