One of two prisoners mistakenly released hands himself in

One of the two prisoners mistakenly freed from HMP Wandsworth has handed himself in.

William “Billy” Smith, 35, was wrongly released from the prison earlier this week but, after a three-day manhunt, Surrey Police has confirmed he handed himself in on Thursday.

Smith was sentenced to 45 months for multiple fraud offences at Croydon Crown Court on Monday, but mistakenly released later the same day.

Sky News understands that his release came about because of a court error, telling the prison his custodial sentence was a suspended one instead.

A correction was initially sent to the wrong person and by the time it got to the right place, he had left.

The search for sex offender Brahim Kaddour-Cherif continues. He was mistakenly released from the same prison on 29 October.

Surrey Police said: “We are cancelling our appeal to help find wanted 35-year-old William Smith who was released in error from HMP Wandsworth on Monday, November 3. Smith handed himself in to HMP Wandsworth today.”

He was filmed returning to the prison by ITV News. Footage showed Smith in a tracksuit waving and smiling before speaking to prison staff at the prison’s entrance.

Justice Secretary David Lammy posted a response on X: “William Smith is back in custody. The spike in mistaken releases is unacceptable.

“We’re modernising prison systems – replacing paper with digital tools to cut errors. We’re working with police to recapture Brahim Kaddour-Cherif.”

Justice minister Alex Davies-Jones said prison chiefs were being summoned for a meeting on Thursday and a team of digital experts had been tasked with overhauling the “archaic” paper-based system of prisoner records.

The Prison Governors Association (PGA) described releases in error as “neither rare nor hidden”, but said the scale of them was “deeply concerning” – with 262 prisoners released in error in the last full year of reporting.

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