#hmp-wandsworth

#hmp-wandsworth

Brahim Kaddour-Cherif, the sex offender accidentally released from HMP Wandsworth, has been arrested by police in London. The 24-year-old was serving a sentence at HMP Wandsworth in south-west London for trespass with intent to steal, but had previously also been convicted for indecent exposure, sources said. He was freed from the jail, which was put into special measures last year, on October 29, but the mistake was only reported to the Metropolitan Police on Tuesday, the force said.

Kaddour-Cherif is understood to have entered the UK legally on a visit visa in 2019, but overstayed and was in the early stages of the deportation process. He was sentenced to an 18-month community order and placed on the sex offenders' register for five years. The Metropolitan Police said the criminal had a six-day head start after he was freed from the medium security jail last Wednesday, but the force was only informed at 1pm on Tuesday.

"Shortly after 1pm 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." Sky News, that first reported the mistaken release, said it is understood the prisoner was serving time for trespass with an intent to steal but has previously committed sexual offences.

A damning investigation found staff repeatedly missed opportunities to help Rajwinder Singh, 36, who took his own life 11 days after arriving at the south-west London prison in June 2023. The prison falsified records, ignored his call bell and did not check on him when his wife phoned with concerns for his welfare the day he died. A Prisons and Probation Ombudsman report said the prison "made critical and repeated failings in their duty of care to Mr Singh".

"The improved stability and new direction at HMP Wandsworth signify a significant turn from its previous chaotic period, fostering safety and decency for inmates."