When a prison can’t tell who’s supposed to be behind bars and who’s free to walk the streets, the entire justice system becomes a dangerous game of chance.
The Six-Day Window That Shocked Parliament
Brahim Kaddour-Cherif walked out of HMP Wandsworth as a free man, despite serving time for trespass with intent to steal and having prior convictions for indecent exposure. The Algerian national, flagged as an immigration overstayer since February 2020, disappeared into London’s sprawling urban landscape. Prison officials waited six full days before alerting the Metropolitan Police at 1 pm on November 4, creating an unprecedented head start for a fugitive who should never have tasted freedom.
Escaped prisoners Brahim Kaddour-Cherif and William (Billy) Smith (Metropolitan Police/Surrey Police)
Two more prisoners on run after being released from jail by mistake in fresh crisis for Labour
Police searching for Algerian sex offender freed from Wandsworth jail by mistake… pic.twitter.com/r5dVc4Qj49— CraiginEngland (@ghost_wales) November 5, 2025
This wasn’t incompetence in isolation. Just five days earlier, another foreign national, Hadush Kebatu, had been mistakenly freed from HMP Chelmsford. Two catastrophic errors within a working week exposed the UK prison system’s alarming inability to perform its most basic function: keeping dangerous individuals locked up.
A Prison System in Crisis Mode
HMP Wandsworth’s reputation for operational failures runs deeper than this latest embarrassment. Between March 2024 and March 2025, the facility recorded 262 mistaken releases, a staggering number that makes Kaddour-Cherif’s freedom just another statistic in a broken system.
The Independent Monitoring Board and HM Inspectorate of Prisons had already flagged the prison’s inability to conduct accurate prisoner roll checks, with staff routinely unable to provide correct headcounts.
The facility’s troubles aren’t new. Daniel Khalif’s dramatic escape in 2024 had already put Wandsworth under intense scrutiny. Yet despite promises of reform and increased oversight, the prison continues to leak inmates like a punctured balloon. Each failure chips away at public confidence in Britain’s ability to manage its most dangerous criminals..
The Manhunt and Mounting Questions
Metropolitan Police launched urgent enquiries across London, appealing for public assistance in locating a man who should still be counting days behind bars.
The manhunt exposed uncomfortable questions about resource allocation and inter-agency communication. Why did prison officials wait six days to report the error? What protocols failed so spectacularly that two facilities could make identical mistakes within the same week?
Oversight bodies had repeatedly warned about systemic issues at HMP Wandsworth, yet their concerns fell on deaf ears until public safety became compromised.
The prison’s staff couldn’t conduct basic roll checks, maintain accurate records, or prevent convicted criminals from walking out the front door. These aren’t administrative hiccups; they’re fundamental failures that put every British citizen at risk.
ANOTHER MIGRANT PRISONER RELEASED IN ERROR
This time a 24 year old Algerian named Brahim Kaddour-Cherif was released from HMP Wandsworth in error. He was in prison for trespass with intent to steal and at also has previous convictions for sex offenses. #Wandsworth #DavidLammy pic.twitter.com/q9OfjJkyzR— TheIrishWatchdog (@WatchdogTh96012) November 5, 2025
Sources:
Wandsworth prison manhunt: Mistaken release – The Independent
Hunt for inmate freed by mistake from Wandsworth prison – ITV News