Dozens of people released from jail under the government’s emergency prison scheme were freed by mistake.
A Ministry of Justice source said that 37 people were released in error on 10 September, because their offences were wrongly logged under outdated legislation.
Five prisoners have not yet been returned to jail but most have been brought back into custody.
These prisoners were sentenced under repealed legislation, meaning exemptions – which were designed to prevent those guilty of certain types of crime from being released – were not applied.
A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: “Public safety is our first priority. That is why we took decisive action to fix the broken prison system we inherited and keep the most dangerous offenders locked up.
“This included blocking the early release of domestic abuse offences such as stalking and controlling behaviour.
“We are working with the police to urgently return a very small number of offenders – who were charged incorrectly and sentenced under repealed legislation – to custody.
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“The convictions remain valid with offenders monitored since their release and will soon be back behind bars.”
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