Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prisoners accidentally released since 1 April 2025 have a history of (a) violent and (b) sexual offending.

Releases in error have been increasing for several years and are another symptom of the prison system crisis inherited by this Government

While the overwhelming majority of offenders are released correctly, we are clamping down on those releases in error that do occur; on 11 November, the Deputy Prime Minister announced a five-point action plan setting out initial steps to address this issue. A joint protocol between HMPPS and NPCC is in place, to ensure effective and timely communication between partner agencies when an individual is released in error to rearrest them as quickly as possible.

Totals for releases in error are published each July in the HMPPS Annual Digest, available via HMPPS Annual Digest, April 2024 to March 2025 - GOV.UK, and provide data up to March 2025.

A further transparency ad hoc publication, available via Releases_in_Error_from_1_April_2025_to_31_October_2025.pdf, also cover the number of releases in error from 1 April 2025 to 31 October 2025.

The Government is determined to fix the issue of mistaken releases and ensure the public is properly protected.