A new report from the UK Ministry of Justice has revealed that 91 prisoners were mistakenly released from prisons across the country between April and October 2025 due to administrative and judicial errors.
According to a report from PEOPLE’S GAZETTE, a total of 91 prisoners were mistakenly released from the country’s prison system over a seven-month period between April and October 2025.
The report, published on Tuesday, showed that the erroneous releases resulted from misplaced warrants, sentence miscalculations, and mistakes by courts or other authorities.
One high-profile case involved Ethiopian national Hadush Kebatu, who had been jailed for sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl and a woman but was freed by mistake on October 24. His release sparked protests in Essex and triggered a large-scale manhunt before he was recaptured and deported to Ethiopia.
Another case cited was that of Algerian national Brahim Kaddour-Cherif, 24, who was accidentally freed from HMP Wandsworth in London on October 29 but re-arrested last week after a police search.
Separate government data indicated that 262 inmates were mistakenly released across England and Wales in the year to March 2025—marking a 128 per cent rise from the 115 recorded in the previous 12 months.
Responding to questions in the House of Commons, Deputy Prime Minister and Justice Secretary David Lammy said the government “must take every step to reduce the figures,” adding that measures were being implemented to address the issue.