Two mistakenly released prisoners still at large, says justice secretary

Twelve more prisoners have been mistakenly released from prison over the past month, David Lammy has confirmed – and two remain at large.

Speaking to Mornings with Ridge and Frost, the justice secretary admitted that there have been further prisoners accidentally freed since he made a statement on the issue last month.

Pushed on how many more people have been wrongly let out since his update to MPs on 11 November, Mr Lammy responded: “There have been two.”

But he later clarified to the BBC afterwards that “there have been 12 [mistaken releases] since then, two are currently at large”.

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At the time, he said 91 people had been mistakenly freed from prisons in England and Wales since April this year.

Mr Lammy told Sky News: “There have been releases in error since I made that statement, but I want to convey that the trend this year is fortunately downwards.

“There are two people currently at large… and a prison system that is paper-based. Mistakes happen.”

But pushed for more detail on these mistaken releases, Mr Lammy said he doesn’t want to give a “running commentary”.

He said: “It’s important that I release that data in the way that it’s always been released. And it’s also important that I work with police where someone is at large, and sometimes because the police are about to nab somebody, they actually don’t want me to discuss it, and it’s important that they get on to it.”

Mr Lammy also told ITV that the two prisoners who remain at large are not violent or sexual offenders.

Reacting to Mr Lammy’s admission, the shadow justice secretary, Robert Jenrick, said: “Calamity Lammy admits two more dangerous prisoners have been mistakenly released.

“But he won’t say who they are or where they are. When will this fiasco end?”

Following the justice secretary’s admission to the BBC, Mr Jenrick added: “Fifteen minutes later, Calamity says 12 prisoners have in fact been released by mistake, not two.

“Twelve in three weeks. So the problem has got worse since he intervened.

“This is a total shambles.”

Mr Jenrick’s shadow Cabinet colleague, Sir Mel Stride, has told Sky News that the justice secretary should “tell us a bit more” about the two prisoners who are on the run.

He said: “I think it is appropriate that he comes forward and tells us a bit more about who they are, what they were convicted for, how dangerous they might be, so that we’re properly informed.”

Pushed on whether it should be for the police to decide to share this information, the shadow Chancellor responded: “It seems to me, on the face of it, that if you’ve got two people out there, who have been let go by mistake and, that is now out there in the public domain – and he has put it into the public domain this morning – then we should know a little bit more about it.”