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Five inmates released in error, union says

Martin HeathHertfordshire political reporter
News imageGetty Images A close-up of two hands behind someone's back, linked by silver handcuffs. The person is wearing dark clothing and a window with a grid of bars is visible in the background.Getty Images
The POA said five mistaken releases had happened in the last seven days

A prisoner has been mistakenly released from a jail in Hertfordshire in the past week, a union has said.

The Prison Officers' Association (POA) said the inmate was set free from HMP The Mount on the outskirts of Bovingdon.

The union claimed there had been five releases made in error in the same week that migrant sex offender Hadush Kebatu was set free by mistake.

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) disputed the POA figure and said it had introduced "stronger release checks".

The Mount is a Category C men's prison which was built on the site of a former RAF station.

It has a capacity of 1,028 prisoners.

It was named by the POA as one of four places where mistaken releases had taken place within the last seven days.

News imageMark Fairhurst with very short hair wearing a dark jacket with a small badge, a white shirt and a blue tie with white dots. He is sitting on a BBC red sofa with houses, trees and sky in the background.
Mark Fairhurst from the POA said poor staff training might have been the reason why more inmates were being released by mistake

The POA's national chairman, Mark Fairhurst, told the BBC: "Over the last 12 months, there have been 262 releases in error.

"And only this week, over the the last seven days, there have been five from five separate prisons."

He continued: "Are staff being adequately trained? Are the workloads excessive?"

Mr Fairhurst said there had been releases from HMP Pentonville in north London, HMP Durham and from Reading Crown Court, as well as at The Mount.

The number of mistaken releases for 2024-25 is more than twice the number in the previous year, when 115 inmates were freed through error.

News imageTwo-story brick-built prison block with small windows. An entrance porch is visible to the left, with a black door set back from the facade. There is a crest on the wall above the porch. There is a red litter bin by the entrance. A pedestrian crossing has been painted on the road to the right.
HMP The Mount is on the site of a former RAF station at Bovingdon, near Hemel Hempstead

The Ministry of Justice disputed the number of mistaken releases from the last seven days, but declined to say where any of them happened.

The POA declined to provide any further details of individual incidents.

News imageEssex Police Hadush Kebatu with very short dark hair wearing a grey T-shirt against a plain white background in a police custody photoEssex Police
Hadush Kebatu was deported after being released from custody by mistake and being recaptured

Kebatu, who was jailed for sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl and a woman in Epping in Essex, was brought back into custody two days after being set free.

He has since been deported from the UK.

An MoJ spokesperson said: "Releases in error have been increasing for several years and are another symptom of the prison system crisis inherited by this government.

"As well as building more prison places and reforming sentencing, we have introduced mandatory, stronger prisoner release checks to keep our streets safe and protect the public."

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