Early release inmate 'on run for 579 days'

DOWNING Street has vowed to fix the “broken” justice system after an official review revealed a series of blunders including a prisoner freed from jail by mistake who was on the run for 579 days allowing him to carry on offending.

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The male prisoner, who was originally sentenced for theft, burglary with intent to steal and driving while disqualified, was released 36 days early after a “breakdown in information flow” between HMP Alt-course in Liverpool and the courts in 2023.

Figures show the government freed an average of three prisoners a week by mistake - 179 inmates between April 2025 and March 2026.

Accidental prisoner releases became a focus after Hadush Kebatu, the now-deported migrant at the heart of protests in Epping, Essex, was freed in error, prompting a police manhunt - Kebatu had been living at the Bell Hotel when he sexually assaulted a 14-year-old girl.