Another inmate has escaped from a UK prison after being temporarily released to attend a family wedding, marking the latest in a series of embarrassing security failures within the British prison system.
Wedding Release Turns Into Escape Opportunity
Sean Middleborough, a 32-year-old activist with the pro-Palestine group Palestine Action, was granted temporary bail from HMP Wandsworth to attend his brother's wedding ceremony. However, the prisoner never returned to the Category B facility as required, prompting an immediate police manhunt.
Middleborough had been on remand over allegations that he and other group members plotted to disrupt the London Stock Exchange by chaining themselves to the building's entrances. He faced formal charges of conspiracy to cause public nuisance between November and January of this year.
Growing List of Prison System Failures
This escape represents the third major blunder within the UK prison system in recent days, raising serious questions about security protocols and release procedures.
Just days before Middleborough's disappearance, 24-year-old Algerian sex offender Brahim Kaddour-Cherif was mistakenly released from the same Wandsworth prison. Footage obtained by Sky News captured the dramatic moment when police rearrested him on Friday, with Kaddour-Cherif loudly protesting that he had been "released illegally" and demanding officers "do your job."
In another case, 35-year-old Billy Smith, who was also freed by mistake, voluntarily surrendered himself to authorities on Thursday. Photographs showed him calmly walking back into the prison with his hands in his pockets, flanked by prison staff.
System in Crisis Demands Urgent Reforms
Justice Secretary David Lammy faces mounting pressure as these errors continue to pile up. While praising police and prison services for their efforts in recapturing wrongly released inmates, Lammy expressed clear frustration with the system, stating his department had "inherited a prison system in crisis."
The Justice Secretary has ordered tighter release checks and launched an independent investigation into systemic failures. The probe will examine outdated paper-based processes that remain in use across parts of the prison estate, potentially contributing to these security lapses.
These recent incidents follow the high-profile mistaken release of Hadush Kebatu, a migrant convicted of assaulting a 14-year-old girl, who walked free from HMP Chelmsford instead of being transferred to an immigration removal centre. He was recaptured after two days at large.
During his temporary wedding bail, Middleborough gave an interview to Declassified UK where he hinted he might return to jail but also spoke about potentially joining a hunger strike in solidarity with fellow activists. He joked about telling his son that his presence in London wasn't "by request of the King," but rather by "the King's Government to hold me in captivity."
A government spokesperson has clarified that bail decisions are made independently by judges, not ministers. They emphasized that absconding constitutes a serious criminal offense that carries additional prison time upon capture. Authorities have urged anyone with information about Middleborough's whereabouts to contact police immediately.
