Keir Starmer ‘angry and frustrated’ at mistaken prison releases

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has said he is “angry and frustrated” over the mistaken release of two prisoners from Wandsworth Prison in London.

One of the men, Billy Smith, handed himself in on Thursday but Brahim Kaddour-Cherif, an Algerian sex offender, is still at large.

Speaking publicly about the releases for the first time, the Labour prime minister blamed the strain on the prison system on “failures” under the previous, Conservative government but added, “I recognise it’s our job to step up and to fix this.”

Describing the situation as “a total shambles”, Conservative shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick said the government had “got to get a grip”.

Justice Secretary David Lammy had promised the “strongest checks ever” to prevent further errors…