NEARLY 200 prisoners were released by mistake last year, new government figures have revealed.
The Ministry of Justice freed a total of 179 prisoners by mistake in England and Wales between April 2025 and March 2026.
It follows a shocking number of recent cases in which convicted criminals have been released erroneously from prisons.
Earlier this year, it emerged that a prisoner due to be deported from the UK had in less than a week.
The HMP Feltham inmate, caged for a string of knifepoint robberies, escaped from a hospital in Lewisham, South East .
Daniel Boakye, 21 – said to be a – managed to escape twice within a week just months before he was due to be deported to .
Last October, an instead of being transferred to an immigration detention centre for deportation.
Hadush Kebatu was filmed strolling along busy streets in London after taking a train following his accidental release.
The blunder sparked a frantic manhunt for the national who was “at large in London”, according to Justice Secretary .
He was jailed after being convicted of sexually assaulting a schoolgirl in Epping, sparking nationwide protests outside of migrant hotels.
Meanwhile, following the high-profile jail blunder of Kebatu.
Sex offender are both now back in custody after being released from scandal-hit HMP Wandsworth.
The government have since pledged to tighten prison release systems to prevent further blunders.
Eze Chidiebere Paul
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