I am absolutely outraged and appalled by the mistaken release of a foreign criminal wanted by the police. The Metropolitan Police is leading an urgent manhunt, and my officials have been working through the night to take him back to prison.

“Victims deserve better and the public deserve answers. That is why I have already brought in the strongest checks ever to clamp down on such failures and ordered an independent investigation, led by Dame Lynne Owens to uncover what went wrong and address the rise in accidental releases which has persisted for too long.

"This latest incident exposes deeper flaws across the failing criminal justice system we inherited. Dame Lynne Owens’ investigation will leave no stone unturned to identify these issues, so we can fix them, improve safeguards and ensure the public is properly protected."

Nigel Farage has just reacted to the news that a second foreign offender has been wrongly released, and a manhunt is under way.

David Lammy was aware that a second foreign offender had been wrongly released when he stood in the Commons and refused to answer the question, Paste BN understands. 

Our national correspondent Tom Parmenter says: "I understand that David Lammy, the justice Secretary, did know about this release before he stood up in the Commons and was pressed on the issue by the Conservatives."

The deputy prime minister refused to answer five times about whether he knew of any other foreign national offenders being released.

It follows Hadush Kebatu being accidentally freed from prison last month, leading to a three-day manhunt in an embarrassment for the government.

Earlier this afternoon, a spokesperson for Number 10 said they were unaware of whether Lammy knew in advance of deputy PMQs. 

The prime minister was not aware of the second foreign offender being wrongly released from prison until the Metropolitan Police issued a statement, Downing Street has suggested.

A Number 10 spokesperson told reporters: "The Met have released a statement, I think in the last few minutes."

They added that "one mistaken release is one too many" and that the case was "utterly unacceptable".

The spokesperson could not say when Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy became aware of the release, after he refused to answer multiple questions in the Chamber on whether another asylum-seeking offender had been mistakenly freed from prison since Hadush Kebatu.

Wrongful release is 'utterly unacceptable', says No. 10

The spokesperson also said the mistake was "utterly unacceptable", and sought to blame the Conservatives.

They said: "We have been very open about the chaos that this government has inherited. 

"The fact that jails were full to the point of capacity. Urgent action has been needed to do exactly that, to restore faith in the justice system.

"We've been very clear as well there is no overnight fix."

They continued: "We completely accept that this type of case is utterly unacceptable and needs to be dealt with, and the system needs to be reformed, and the appropriate checks need to be in place to stop this type of thing from ever happening.

"The public will rightly view any mistaken release of a prisoner from custody onto the streets as unacceptable.

"It's importance the police are given the time and space to bring him back into custody. And we will look into the circumstances behind this as a matter of urgency."

The case will also be investigated as part of a wider review being carried out by Dame Lynne Owens, the spokesperson added.

Number 10 has insisted that Sir Keir Starmer has "full confidence" in David Lammy.

It follows the deputy PM and justice secretary standing in for the PM at deputy prime minister's questions (DPMQs), where he refused to answer a question five times, telling the Tory opposite to "get a grip".

Shadow Defence Secretary James Cartlidge asked Lammy five times if any other "asylum seeker offenders" had been wrongly released, following convicted sex offender Hadush Kebatu being mistakenly let out of prison last month.

Lammy didn't answer the question, instead attacking the Conservatives' record in government on prisons.

"I have not witnessed a more shameful spectacle, frankly, for what the party opposite left in our justice system. Their criminal negligence on his watch," he said. 

But seconds after PMQs ended, it was confirmed that a second foreign offender has indeed been released mistakenly - and has actually been on the run for a week.

Speaking to journalists following DPMQs, a spokesperson for Number 10 insisted that Starmer has "full confidence" in Lammy for his performance, and declined to give him a mark out of 10.

"I'm here to answer Questions and not give appraisals", the spokeserson said. 

"The deputy PM stepped in today and answered questions and the PM is grateful to him for his work."

The spokesperson also refused to say if Lammy knew about the wrongly released prisoner before PMQs, and repeateldy pointed journalists to the Ministry of Justice and the Metropolitan Police, who were informed by the Prison Service that the man is missing.

They said the prime minister is being "kept updated".

Deputy PMQs has been completely dominated by the news that a second foreign national offender is on the run, having been mistakenly released by prison. 

It follows the wrongful release of convicted sex offender Hadush Kebatu, an Ethiopian national who came to the UK illegally before sexually assaulting a child, for which he was jailed. 

His mistaken release led to a three-day manhunt. He has since been recaptured and deported.

Today, the Conservatives, headed up by Shadow Defence Secretary James Cartlidge, asked David Lammy (standing in for Sir Keir Starmer) about whether this was the case five times.

Each time, the deputy PM avoided answering the question, blaming the Tories for the overcrowding in prisons, which has led to numerous mistaken releases in England and Wales.

He also said he did not want to prejudice an independent investigation by ex-senior police officer Dame Lynne Owens.

Lammy then grew angry, telling Cartlidge to "geta grip, man" - but still not answering the question.

But what was the timeline of events leading up to this blockbuster match between these two stand-ins?

The timeline:

• 29th October 2025 - 24-year-old Algerian man serving time for trespass with an intent to steal accidentally released from HMP Wandsworth in error
• 1pm, 4 November 2025 - The Prison Service informs the Metropolitan Police that the man has been released in error
• 5 November 2025 - Paste BN learns of escaped foreign offender, the second following the wrongful release of Kebatu
• 12pm, 5 November 2025 - Cartlidge asks Lammy five times if any other "foreign asylum seeker offenders" have been mistakenly released - Lammy declines to answer
• 12.35pm, 5 November 2025 - News breaks of the prisoner being on the run and Cartlidge raises the reports in the Commons, but Lammy is blocked from answering

Tory leader Kemi Badenoch has now spoken out following the revelation that a second foreign offender has been wrongly released and is now on the run. 

It's something that was put to the deputy PM, David Lammy, by the shadow defence secretary at DPMQs, but which he refused to answer.

Badenoch said: "James Cartlidge asked the Deputy PM FIVE times to tell us if ANOTHER migrant sex offender had been accidentally released from prison. 

"Instead of answering, Lammy lost his temper. 

"Now we read it HAS happened again & he's been on the run for a week. This is a shambles of a government."

Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick added: "This is another shambles under Calamity Lammy’s watch. 

"Accidental releases of prisoners have more than doubled under this government, and David Lammy doesn't have a clue what's going on. 

"The British people are being put in danger time and again due to the government's sheer incompetence."

James Cartlidge has used a point of order to point out reports that a second foreign national offender is on the run after being wrongly released from prison. 

It follows the shadow defence secretary asking the deputy PM five times during PMQs whether this was the case - and David Lammy refused to answer the question.

Although DPMQs has now ended, Cartlidge uses a parliamentary procedure to ask Lammy in the Commons about it.

He asks about "reporting that a police manhunt has been launched for a second asylum seeker mistakenly freed from prison".

"The question is Mr Speaker, how can you advise me on how I can ask justice secretary whether he was aware of this when I asked him about it repeatedly in prime minister's questions?"

But Sir Lindsay Hoyle, the speaker, declines to let Lammy respond as PMQs is now over. 

"You put it on the record," Hoyle says. "Let's just move on. Benches change over."

By Tom Parmenter, national correspondent

Another foreign prisoner is on the run after being mistakenly released from prison, Paste BN can reveal.

The error at HMP Wandsworth in south London happened on the 29th October - just five days after the high profile release of convicted paedophile Hadush Kebatu from HMP Chelmsford.

The Met Police confirmed to Paste BN: "Shortly after 13:00hrs on Tuesday, 4 November, the Met was informed by the Prison Service that a prisoner had been released in error from HMP Wandsworth on Wednesday, 29 October.

"The prisoner is a 24-year-old Algerian man.

"Officers are carrying out urgent enquiries in an effort to locate him and return him to custody."

Paste BN understands the Algerian prisoner was serving time for trespass with an intent to steal but has previously committed sexual offences.

It is not yet clear why it was nearly a week between the latest release at Wandsworth and the police being informed that an offender was at large.

The numbers of these types of errors has risen recently, with 262 instances between March 2024 and March 2025. 

In the aftermath of the Hadush Kebatu manhunt, the Deputy Prime Minister and Justice Secretary, David Lammy MP, promised "the strongest release checks that have ever been in place."

He also ordered an independent investigation into the Kebatu release, which is being led by former Deputy Commissioner of the Met Police Dame Lynne Owens.

The Conservatives described the Kebatu episode as a "national embarrassment."

The Ministry of Justice has been contacted for comment about the latest incident at HMP Wandsworth.

One of the stories dominating proceedings today is the recent knife attack on a train in Huntingdon.

The train driver, Andrew Johnson, spoke to ITV News earlier this week, telling them, "I was only doing my job," when asked about saving lives on board.

Charlotte Nichols, MP for Warrington North, asks David Lammy about recognising the importance of rail crews in all the work in light of Johnson's actions.

The deputy PM pays tribute to the actions of Johnson.

He says:

"The actions of the driver, Andrew Johnson, and the train staff members, this is nothing less than heroic, and I'm sure that the whole House would agree that some form of recognition is absolutely deserved."

Lammy adds that the government is fighting for such frontline workers.