Several prisoners mistakenly released from UK prisons each week, minister says

Police sit inside a vehicle outside The Bell Hotel, as demonstrators protest nearby, following the mistaken release of Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu, an Ethiopian asylum seeker convicted of sexually assaulting a teenage girl and a woman, who was re-arrested in north London this morning, in Epping, Essex, Britain, October 26, 2025. REUTERS/Jack Taylor

LONDON (Reuters) -Several prisoners are mistakenly released from British prisons each week, a minister said on Thursday, revealing the scale of a problem that came to light with the wrongful release of a migrant sex offender whose offences sparked weeks of protests.

The accidental release of Ethiopian asylum seeker Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu last month compounded the pressure on the government which is struggling with overcrowded prisons and a broken immigration system.