Government has 'mountain to climb' on prisons crisis, says Lammy

David Lammy has said the government has a “mountain to climb” to tackle the prisons crisis and insisted he “was not equipped with all the detail” when questioned in parliament about a mistaken prisoner release.

- Rajeev Syal Peter Walker

After a fraudster mistakenly freed from prison handed himself in, the justice secretary told reporters he was “right” not to provide details to MPs at prime minister’s questions about the release of a sex offender who remains at large.

It follows intense pressure over the mistaken release of two prisoners from HMP Wandsworth in south London. Fraudster William Smith was filmed waving to cameras and hugging his partner before he walked back in to jail yesterday, having been mistakenly released by a court on Monday.

A sex offender from Algeria, Brahim Kaddour-Cherif, 24, who was released from Wandsworth by mistake last week, remained at large.

The accidental release of the two men intensified pressure on Lammy, who last week had announced a checklist to ensure prisoners were not freed in error after the release of Hadush Kebatu on 24 October.