Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prisoners accidentally released since 1 April 2025 were (a) foreign nationals and (b) asylum seekers.

The Government is determined to fix the issue of mistaken releases and ensure the public is properly protected. We have put in place a five-point plan to do that.

We regularly publish information on releases in error, but this does not include numbers of foreign nationals or asylum seekers.

Foreign nationals who commit crime should be in no doubt that the law will be enforced. Where appropriate, the Ministry of Justice will work with the Home Office to pursue their deportation. Between 5 July 2024 and 4 July 2025, over 5,000 FNOs were removed. This is an increase of 14% compared to the 4,532 FNO returns in the same period 12 months prior.