There have been 12 further accidental releases of prisoners over the past month - two of whom are still at large, Justice Secretary David Lammy (pictured) confirmed today. The Ministry of Justice previously released figures three weeks ago that showed 91 accidental releases took place between April 1 and October 31 this year. But Mr Lammy revealed on BBC Breakfast this morning that since he provided that total to MPs on November 11, another 12 inmates had been released in error. Shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick cited how Mr Lammy had earlier told Sky that only two had been released in error, branding the situation a 'total shambles'.

The Labour politician also said the two prisoners still at large after being released in error are not violent or sexual offenders, but he refused to give further details. He told the BBC: 'I said to Parliament a few weeks ago, I released data at that point, and there had been 91 releases in error up to that point. There have been 12 since then, two are currently at large. That's new information that I'm sharing with you.' Mr Lammy, who is also Deputy Prime Minister, then boasted that 'the trend is downwards because of some of the improvements that I've put into the system'. He cited a new urgent hotline staffed by court experts allowing prisons to quickly escalate queries relating to warrants, which aims to reduce the risk of errors.

The Tottenham MP also referred to an independent review led by Dame Lynne Owens (pictured) which is looking at release errors and improving transparency on release data. He added: 'I made it clear in Parliament that on a paper-based system there will always be human error and there has been human error for all of my lifetime. 'Until we move to a completely digital system, I think it's impossible to rule out human error. But there has been a spike, it's on a downward trajectory. There have been 12 since I made that statement. At the moment two are currently at large.' When it was stated that this took the total over 100, he said: 'Well, no, because some of those people have come back into the prison system in terms of the total.'

Mr Lammy continued: 'I made clear to Parliament when I spoke to them that the trajectory began to increase in the last four years of the last government because of their new release scheme - so the complexity of that system, a system that we're simplifying with the Sentencing Bill through Parliament. 'It does mean that every week there are one or two cases. It places huge demands on our police, particularly, as we re-arrest these people. That's why I put the systems in place to bring the number down. But we would have to move beyond a paper-based system.' Asked for more details on the two prisoners at large, Mr Lammy said: 'I'm not going to give you names about that. Just sit back. Often the police are about to nab somebody and the last thing they want is that person to know that they are going to be arresting them. 'So that is an operational decision for policing and I've got to stand by that. I've revealed more information on this issue than has ever been revealed before.'

But Mr Jenrick pointed out that during an earlier interview on Sky News at 7.25am, Mr Lammy was asked by presenter Sophy Ridge: 'Are you aware of any more violent offenders or [sexual intercourse[ offenders who have been let out of jail by mistake on your watch?' The Labour politician initially declined to give her a number and said he was 'not going to give a running commentary'. But Ms Ridge pushed him, asking: 'Can you give me a number on how many?' Mr Lammy paused, then replied: 'Two, there have been two.' Asked whether they were still at large, he confirmed: 'There are two people currently at large.' Following this Sky News interview, Mr Jenrick tweeted: 'Calamity Lammy admits two more dangerous prisoners have been mistakenly released. But he won't say who they are or where they are. When will this fiasco end?'

Then, after the BBC interview at 7.40am in which Mr Lammy gave the figure of 12 inmates released in error, Mr Jenrick tweeted: 'Fifteen minutes later, Calamity says 12 prisoners have in fact been released by mistake, not two. 'Twelve in three weeks. So the problem has got *worse* since he intervened. This is a total shambles.' Mr Lammy appeared on ITV's Good Morning Britain about an hour later at about 8.40am and said the two prisoners still at large after being mistakenly released are not violent or sexual offenders. He confirmed that 12 more mistaken releases had taken place since he told Parliament three weeks ago that 91 had been released between April and the end of October, and said two prisoners are still at large. Mr Lammy told GMB: 'I'm not going to give details of those cases, because these are operational decisions made by the police, and you'll understand if they're about to arrest somebody they don't want me to blow the cover. So I can say that there's been two.'

Asked if they were violent or sexual offenders, he said: 'I'm reassured that they are not in relation to those two.' He said there was a 'downward trend' because of some checks he has put in place compared with 262 prisoners released in error in the year to March 2025. That was a 128 per cent increase on the 115 in the previous 12 months. The Government has been facing mounting pressure after it was revealed last month that two prisoners had been freed in error following the high-profile jail blunder of Hadush Kebatu (pictured), the now-deported migrant at the heart of protests in Epping, Essex. Releases in error can include misplaced warrants for imprisonment or remand, sentence miscalculations or can be as a result of mistakes by courts or other authorities, according to the Ministry of Justice. Mr Jenrick has previously claimed the accidental releases of Kebatu and the two prisoners that sparked manhunts last month were 'just the tip of the iceberg'.