British police said on Wednesday they had launched a manhunt for two prisoners, including an Algerian, mistakenly released from jail, angering parliamentarians at the latest mix-up committed by the UK's beleaguered prison system.
The error heaps further embarrassment on Prime Minister Keir Starmer's struggling centre-left Labour government as the hard-right, anti-immigrant Reform UK party surges in national polls.
London's Metropolitan Police force said in a statement it was looking for 24-year-old Brahim Kaddour Cherif, a registered sex offender, after he was released in error a week ago.
"Cherif has had a six-day head start but we are working urgently to close the gap and establish his whereabouts," said commander Paul Trevers, who is leading the investigation.
A police statement said the force was informed on Tuesday that Cherif had been mistakenly let out of Wandsworth prison in southwest London on October 29.
Separately, police in Surrey, southwest of London, said that Wandsworth prison had on Monday mistakenly released another man convicted of multiple fraud offences.
Sex offenders on the loose
Cherif was convicted in November 2024 of indecent exposure relating to an incident in March that year and placed on the sex offenders' register for five years, the police added.
Justice Secretary David Lammy said he was "absolutely outraged" and "appalled" by the mistake, which came just days after stronger prison security checks were introduced.
The checks were implemented after Hadush Kebatu, an Ethiopian asylum seeker convicted of sexually assaulting a teenage girl and a woman, was mistakenly released from prison before being recaptured following a 48-hour manhunt.
The UK government then forcibly deported Kebatu, giving him $661 to leave the country, and launched an independent investigation into his accidental release.
Kebatu's arrest earlier this year in Epping, northeast of London, triggered weeks of demonstrations targeting hotels where asylum seekers were believed to be housed.
The interior ministry confirmed that Cherif is not an asylum seeker and that he entered the country legally in 2019.
It added, though, that he had overstayed his visit and insisted it seeks to deport foreign nationals who commit crimes in Britain.
Starmer under fire amid Reform UK surge
Starmer, prime minister since July 2024, is coming under fire on multiple fronts over immigration as Reform, led by firebrand Brexit champion Nigel Farage, soars in popularity.
Polls show that Starmer is deeply unpopular with the British public, although the next general election is not expected until 2029.
His official spokesperson said the latest accidental release was "utterly unacceptable", but suggested the previous Conservative government was partly to blame for leaving behind a "chaotic" and overcrowded prison system.
Figures showed 262 people were freed from prison in error between March 2024 and March 2025, up from 115 in the 21 months previously.
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Source: TRT