A retired Detective Chief Inspector at Scotland Yard was up in arms at the state of Britain’s justice system after it came to light that a prisoner had been mistakenly released.
His fury on GB News has come after it was announced a manhunt was underway for Algerian convict Brahim Kaddour-Cherif after he was allowed to walk free from HMP Wandsworth in error.
The wrongful release was revealed just days after Ethiopian sex pest Hadush Kebatu was also mistakenly freed from HMP Chelmsford.
Speaking to GB News presenters Tom Harwood and Nana Akua, Mike Neville fumed: “It’s a fiasco across the criminal justice system, isn’t it?
Mr Neville said the ‘real problem’ were diversity schemes across the public sector
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GB NEWS
“We’ve got people getting out of prison after 40 per cent of the time, and now we’ve got people being released who shouldn’t be released at all.”
Justice Secretary David Lammy was first informed of the second mistaken release last night, while No10 claimed to only be informed of the revelation today.
“It would seem that people are not telling us these things for a week, and you can only think that’s to do with political embarrassment or something,” Mr Neville said in bewilderment.
“The whole prison system is breaking down.”
HMP Wandsworth has housed several infamous escapees over the years, from Great Train Robber Ronnie Biggs in 1965 to Iran spy Daniel Khalife in 2023.
However, Kaddour-Cherif was allowed to walk free without any obstacles as prison guards made an error.
“Society needs to have rules. It needs to know that if you break the rules, something bad will happen to you,” Mr Neville said.
“And at the moment, what people are seeing is that the situation is a disgrace. It’s a fiasco. The police aren’t arresting enough people, and when they do, they’re either released from prison early or about by Government, or by stupidity.”
Asked what the “real problem” is behind the mistaken releases, he added: “I think the public sector in particular has been infected by sort of diversity schemes rather than competent schemes.
“Rather than employing people who are good, they employ people for all sorts of identity politics reasons and little simple things that you could do.”
He further claimed that gangs run the prisons up and down Britain, lamenting over the insufficient number of prison officers and prisons.
“Often we haven’t got the right prison officers. Rather than having some 40-year-old bloke who’s been in the armed forces or whatever, we’re employing 18 year olds who can be manipulated over employing people because they fit an agenda.
“Let’s stop doing all this. The country is breaking down and this is just another symbol of broken Britain, that simple things like keeping people in prison and releasing them on the right day is not working.”
Ethiopian sex offender Hadush Kebatu was paid £500 during his deportation
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PA
“Who is in charge? Because once again, what we’ll see is that no one is punished.
“Everything time these things go wrong, they may sort of discipline some minion at the bottom, but the person in charge, the governor, the people at the Home Office, the Justice Department, none of their heads ever roll.”
The Algerian convict was serving time for trespass with the intent to steal but is believed to have committed multiple offences, including a sex offence.
Last month, sex offender and small boat migrant Kebatu was wrongfully released from the Essex prison and remained at large in London until his subsequent arrest in Finsbury Park.
He has now been deported, but not before he was handed £500 before his repatriation.