Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 15 December 2021 to Question 90879, on Prisoners' Release, how many prisoners released in error had been convicted of rape; and for how long those prisoners remained at large before being returned to custody.

A prisoner is released in error if they are released earlier than their correct release date, they will be unlawfully at large until and unless they are subsequently released correctly or returned to custody. If the person released is not aware of the error and makes no attempt to evade arrest, then they have committed no offence and, in that sense, they may not be at fault.

Releases in error are monitored closely to analyse the frequency across the estate and identify any trends nationally, while taking into consideration the management of risk to the public.

(i) How many prisoners released in error had been convicted of rape; and for how long these prisoners remained at large before being returned to custody

If a request is made for information where very small numbers are involved, the MoJ must consider whether this could lead to the identification of individuals. Since the total number of prisoners released in error where their main offence was rape is two or fewer, we are not able to give further details either by year or for the whole period.