Prisoners freed in error as jail ‘fails to calculate sentences'

Times

3 days ago

Ten inmates at HMP Pentonville were mistakenly released early while 130 were illegally detained after their release date when staff 'failed to calculate sentences accurately', the prisons watchdog has found.
The failures, which came after the government introduced emergency early release measures to ease the overcrowding crisis in jails, were revealed in one of the worst inspection reports in recent years by the prisons inspectorate, which has put the north London jail into special measures.
Oversight of inmates who were supposed to be under constant supervision was 'shockingly poor', with one prison officer found asleep, two others reading books and another 'completely absent', according to the report by Charlie Taylor, the chief inspector of prisons.
Taylor said that these 'unacceptable practices' in the care of prisoners requiring constant supervision were of particular concern because there had been three suicides at the jail this year. His report also cited 'frightening' conditions, such as cells being infected with cockroaches and mice.
He served Pentonville with an urgent notification, which means that the Ministry of Justice must establish an action plan within 28 days to improve conditions. It is the tenth prison or young offender institution to be served an urgent notification since November 2022.
The watchdog said that data from Pentonville showed 130 inmates — 20 per cent of those eligible for release — had been held illegally after their release date in the last six months.
The backlog in sentencing calculations also meant ten prisoners were released early 'in error' between July 2024 and June 2025, Taylor's report said.
The illegal detention of prisoners beyond their release date will make them eligible for compensation payments at taxpayers' expense, which could add up to millions of pounds.
In a letter to Shabana Mahmood, the justice secretary, the chief inspector also said that arrangements for the first night new prisoners spent at the north London jail and their induction were 'chaotic and even frightening'.
Men were held in dirty cells that were missing bedding, furniture, telephones and pillows, the watchdog said, while the majority of prisoners were locked in their cells for more than 22 hours a day. The report also said that 60 per cent of prisoners were sharing cells designed for one person, many living areas were dirty and there was a widespread infestation of mice and cockroaches.
Taylor said: 'Pentonville is an overcrowded, inner-city, Victorian prison with a record of poor performance over many years. Too many of its staff have become disillusioned about the possibility of improvement or their capacity to affect change. Yet many of its shocking failures are firmly within the control of leaders.
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'The governor will need significant support and investment from HM Prison and Probation Service to strengthen his senior leadership team, re-focus on the basics, and put in place effective oversight and assurance systems to turn this failing prison around.'
A survey of prisoners revealed that 44 per cent told inspectors that they felt unsafe at the time of inspection, which the watchdog said was the highest figure recorded during his tenure as chief inspector.
Pentonville is the tenth prison to be issued with an urgent notification since November 2022, following Exeter, Cookham Wood Young Offender Institution, Bristol, Woodhill, Bedford, Wandsworth, Rochester, Manchester and Winchester prisons.
The emergency measure was introduced in 2017 as a way to raise immediate concerns after an inspection, which requires a response and action plan by the justice secretary within 28 days.
Elsewhere, the inspector's report found that when releases were planned, 23 per cent of those prisoners were homeless on the day they were released, and very few had employment on release.
Reacting to the urgent notification, Pia Sinha, chief executive of the Prison Reform Trust, said: 'Prisoners illegally held after they should have been released, or others released early in error, further undermine effective sentence planning and erode public confidence.
'This urgent notification must be a rallying cry for immediate action — fix the failing infrastructure, improve staff training, and treat prisoners with dignity.'
Andrew Neilson, director of campaigns at the Howard League for Penal Reform, said that the findings of the inspection were 'outrageous' and represent a 'new low' for an overcrowded public service on the brink of collapse.
He added: 'While the government inherited a dire state of affairs in prisons, it has had more than a year to bring about change. As report cards go, such a dire account of dysfunction in Pentonville instils little confidence that ministers have a grip of the situation.'