Man freed in error from prison in London hands himself in: Police

By Burak Bir

LONDON (AA) - A 35-year-old man who was released in error from a London prison is back in custody as he handed himself in, Surrey Police said on Thursday.

William Smith has handed himself back in three days after being mistakenly released from Wandsworth prison, the police said in a statement.

"We are cancelling our appeal to help find wanted 35-year-old William Smith who was released in error from HMP Wandsworth on Monday, 3 November. Smith handed himself into HMP Wandsworth today (6 November)," noted in the statement.

The BBC reported that Smith was sentenced to 45 months for multiple fraud offences at Croydon Crown Court on Monday, the same day he was released.

Smith was one of two men freed in error from Wandsworth prison, as police are still searching for sex offender Brahim Kaddour-Cherif, 24, who was mistakenly released on Oct. 29.

The governor of HMP Wandsworth was not at the prison when Kaddour-Cherif was freed because he was investigating another early release at a separate jail.

Speaking to BBC, Alex Davies-Jones, a justice minister, said prisons "won't be fixed overnight," adding the system is in "crisis."

Meanwhile, Shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick labelled the situation an "utter shambles."