Lammy under fire after more prisoners leave jail in error

Four more prisoners are at large after being released from custody in error as pressure grows on the justice secretary over his handling of the chaos in Britain's jails.

- John Simpson Home Affairs Editor

Cabinet ministers have accused David Lammy of incompetence, as it emerged that yet more prisoners had been accidentally released and remain missing.

The issue was thrust into the spotlight in October after prison officers wrongly released Hadush Kebatu, an Ethiopian migrant whose conviction for child sexual abuse offences near an asylum hotel in Epping, Essex, prompted disorder over the summer.

The latest revelation that four prisoners remain free relate to prisoners released before July 2025. But the news came after manhunts for three other prisoners over the past two weeks.

The figure for accidental releases more than doubled to 262 in the year to March, with the Labour government's early release scheme believed to have contributed to the growing problem.

Pressure is mounting on Lammy over his handling of the situation after he repeatedly refused to say at prime minister's questions last week whether more prisoners had been released by mistake.