Cabinet minister Steve Reed defended the Justice Secretary’s response to the fiasco as Mr Lammy faced condemnation from within government. Another prisoner, Billy Smith, 35 – who was also accidentally freed from the same prison on Monday, handed himself back in. “The key is to make sure we have a digital system so that no prisoner is ever released by mistake. Mr Lammy told reporters during the visit that he was “not equipped with all the detail” about Kaddour-Cherif’s release when he appeared at Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday. Mr Lammy said he found out about the mistake on Wednesday morning, but the detail was released just after he had finished PMQs.
