Labour left 98% of victims in the dark when 179 criminals were released from jail by mistake

Published: 23:17, 7 June 2026 | Updated: 23:17, 7 June 2026 Labour left 98 per cent of victims in the dark when 179 criminals were let out of jail by mistake, it has emerged. Only three involved in the cases were notified of the Prison Service's blunders. The Conservatives, who obtained the data under Freedom of Information laws, said it showed Justice Secretary David Lammy's apology over the scandal was 'not worth the paper it was written on'. An official report published in April showed that there were 179 cases of inmates being freed by mistake between April last year and March. Of the 179, 14 victims were part of the Probation Service's Victim Contact Scheme, but only three were notified of the mistaken releases. Of the remaining 165 cases – where there were no victims taking part in the scheme – none was notified. Shadow justice spokesman Nick Timothy said: 'David Lammy offered what he called an unequivocal apology for his erroneous release scandal. It was not worth the paper it was written on. 'Victims of crime place their trust in the system to treat them with basic dignity, to tell them, at minimum, when the person who wronged them has been let out of prison by accident. Labour have broken that trust.' In a statement to the Commons at the time of the report's publication, Mr Lammy said: 'We recognise the distress that is caused to victims who learn that the person who harmed them is free when they should be behind bars. 'I give an unequivocal apology to all who have faced worry or worse as a result of releases in error.' Labour left 98 per cent of victims in the dark when 179 criminals were let out of jail by mistake (Pictured: David Lammy) Sex offender Hadush Kebatu (pictured) was mistakenly released from HMP Chelmsford last October In November the then victims minister Alex Davies-Jones told Parliament that those who opted in to the Victim Contact Scheme would be kept updated by officials and notified if the offender was released from prison in error. April's official report focused on the mistaken release of sex offender Hadush Kebatu from HMP Chelmsford last October. It highlighted a long list of failures which led to small-boat migrant Kebatu being freed just a month into a 12-month sentence for sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl and a woman in Epping. The offences took place while he lived at the taxpayers' expense at the Bell Hotel, sparking protests. His schoolgirl victim, known as 'Victim A', learned from a social media post that he had been mistakenly freed from jail. She was not informed until hours later. The inquiry, led by former National Crime Agency boss Dame Lynne Owens, said the release had 'a profound and detrimental impact on the victim and her family'. They described the experience as 'retraumatising', she said. 'Victim A's father described the fear he had knowing that Mr Kebatu, on mistaken release, could have re-encountered his daughter and what could have occurred.' Kebatu was eventually arrested in north London after a three-day manhunt. He was later deported. A Ministry of Justice spokesman said: 'We understand the distress releases in error cause to victims and their families, and we're taking action to fix the crisis-hit system we inherited.' The comments below have been moderated in advance. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.