Algerian sex offender shouts 'it's not my fault' as he's arrested after three-day manhunt

Brahim Kaddour-Cherif, a 24-year-old Algerian national, was accidentally freed from the London prison on October 29 and has been at large since.

The sex offender was arrested in Finsbury Park, North London, at around 11:30am today.

Officers confirmed his identity and arrested him for being unlawfully at large. He was also arrested on suspicion of assaulting an emergency worker in relation to a previous incident.

Read more: Lammy under mounting pressure over prison release chaos as manhunt for sex offender enters third day

Read more: Full timeline of HMP Wandsworth prison release blunders - as two more inmates accidentally freed

He said it was not his fault as he was arrested by Metropolitan Police officers in north London following his mistaken release from prison.

Footage of the 24-year-old’s arrest, captured by Sky News, showed him initially standing by the passenger window of a police van before officers arrested him, as a small group of people gathered on the pavement to watch – with some filming the scene on their phones.

Wearing a grey hoodie, black beanie and black backpack, he denied that he was “Brahim” and, when asked if he knew him, said: “Everyone knows him he’s in (the) news.”

Police began to handcuff his hands in front of him, telling him: “You’re going to be placed under arrest on suspicion of being wanted… because you look identical to the person released from custody. We’re arresting you to prevent your disappearance from location and to prevent any further harm to individuals by your release.”

Police brought him to the back of the van and held up an image of Kaddour-Cherif next to his face before un-cuffing and re-cuffing his hands behind his back. Officers searched his backpack and found a laptop, umbrella and wallet.

Before he was put in the back of the van, he turned to those gathered and said: “Look at the justice of the UK they release people by mistake after this they ‘ah ah ah’, it’s not my f****** fault.”

He has been taken into custody and the prison service has been informed.

A Met spokesperson said: "Officers have arrested Brahim Kaddour Cherif who was released in error from HMP Wandsworth on 29 October.

"Cherif was spotted by a member of the public in Blackhorse Lane, Islington just before 11.30am. Officers responded immediately and he was arrested."

Following the arrest, Deputy Prime Minister, David Lammy said: “I can confirm Brahim Kaddour-Cherif has been recaptured and is back in custody.

“My thanks are with the police and staff at HMPPS who have been working around the clock.

“We inherited a prison system in crisis and I’m appalled at the rate of releases in error this is causing.

“I’m determined to grip this problem, but there is a mountain to climb which cannot be done overnight.

“That is why I have ordered new tough release checks, commissioned an independent investigation into systemic failures, and begun overhauling archaic paper-based systems still used in some prisons.”

Kaddour-Cherif most recently appeared at Westminster Magistrates' Court in September on a charge of failing to comply with sex offender reporting requirements.

He was serving time for trespass with an intent to steal but has previously committed sexual offences.

He is not an asylum seeker and entered the UK legally on a tourist visa in 2019.

However, he overstayed and was in the initial stages of being deported, it has been confirmed.

Mr Lammy was briefed about the release on Tuesday night, and faces questions over whether he misled MPs after he repeatedly refused to tell the Commons whether another foreign criminal was loose.

The Deputy Prime Minister, who was standing in for Sir Keir Starmer at Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday, repeatedly refused to answer questions about the incident.

James Cartlidge, the shadow defence secretary, asked him five times whether any more mistaken releases had occurred.

Cartlidge asked: "Can he reassure the House that since Kebatu was released, no other asylum-seeking offender has been accidentally let out of prison?"

Lammy refused to do so and said: "Let me just remind him that he was a justice minister that allowed our prisons to get to this state in the first place and it’s now for us to fix the mess that we’ve got into."

However, he later responded by saying "victims deserve better and the public deserve answers."