Watchdog chief slams jails 'chaos'

MISTAKES in the release of prisoners are happening “all the time” and are symptomatic of the chaos within the system, the Chief Inspector of Prisons has warned.

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Charlie Taylor has said prisoners being released early, in error or even late is an “endemic problem” now that needs to be fixed by prison service leaders. His call comes after asylum seeker Hadush Kebatu, who was jailed for sexually assaulting a teenage girl in Epping, Essex, was mistakenly freed from HMP Chelmsford last Friday instead of being sent to an immigration detention centre.

Kebatu’s case had sparked protests and counter-protests on the streets in Epping, where he was living in asylum accommodation, and eventually outside hotels housing asylum seekers across the country.