Inmates freed in Midland jails error
Prisoners whose crimes include assault and drug dealing have been freed by mistake from the region's prisons, it can be revealed.
Errors in the system led to a total of seven inmates being wrongly freed from HMPs Featherstone and Birmingham in the space of just four years.
An MP today branded the figure as an "absolute disgrace" and said he would be raising it with the prisons minister.
One criminal serving a five-year sentence for drug offences was wrongly set free from Featherstone and the other six, including two locked up for violent attacks, from Winson Green. All but one was retured to custody.
The figures, which relate to 2009 to 2012, were released by the Ministry of Justice following a Freedom of Information request. The Ministry of Justice described the errors as a "rare but regrettable occurrence".
South Staffordshire MP Gavin Williamson said today: "It is an absolute disgrace that someone has been released when they shouldn't have been.
"I hope proper investigation is done and procedures are put in place to stop incidents like this ever happening again.
"This is a matter I will be raising with the Prison Minister Jeremy Wright to ensure such problems don't happen in the future – it is a crazy situation.
"You also have to question what is wrong in Birmingham. There must be fundamental problems with the way the prisons are being run to allow six criminals to be released in error."
Brian Senior, divisional manager for West Midlands Victim Support, added: "When prisoners are released in error, it undermines the confidence of victims and witnesses."
A Ministry of Justice spokesman said: "This type of error is a rare but regrettable occurrence."
