Justice secretary tells MPs as many as four may still be at large and blames previous governments’ cuts for mistakes
The justice secretary has revealed that 91 prisoners have been released by mistake in England and Wales since April, of whom as many four remain at large.
David Lammy gave details in a Commons statement of three mistakenly released prisoners the police are trying to trace. He said the Prison Service was also investigating a fourth inmate released in error last Monday who may still be at large.
The shadow justice secretary, Robert Jenrick, mocked Lammy for not knowing how many remain at large. “The justice secretary is so clueless, he’s literally lost track of how many prisoners he’s lost,” he told MPs.
“He says today a prisoner may have been accidentally released last Monday. Well, has he looked? He’s either in his cell or he’s not. What a complete and utter farce he’s presiding over.
