HM Prison Service has instructed governors in England and Wales to implement additional checks before inmates are released by Monday.
A prison officer has been suspended pending investigation but a senior prison staffer told BBC News the release was “down to a series of mistakes probably because staff are overworked and in short supply”.
They continued: “It’s not just one prison office who’s to blame. That would be unfair.”
A report from His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service said 262 prisoners in England and Wales were released in error between April 2024 and March 2025, up from 115 in the previous 12 months.
Asked why figures for wrongful releases were rising, Lammy said the Labour government “inherited a system that was collapsing [from the Conservatives]”.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting told the BBC the arrest was a “huge relief” and said Kebatu will “now be deported”.
He continued: “The justice secretary has ordered an investigation into how on earth it was that a dangerous man who was due for deportation was instead released onto our streets.
“That work is under way, we will be open and transparent with the public about what went wrong and what we’re going to do about it.”
He had earlier said the Prison Service was under enormous pressure “but even against that backdrop it doesn’t explain or excuse the release of people on our streets who have no business being there”.
Former Conservative Justice Secretary Alex Chalk said an inquiry was necessary in order “to learn lessons”, and suggested the incident was symptomatic of wider problems with the prison system.
He told BBC Breakfast: “The entire annual budget of the Ministry of Justice is spent by the Department for Work and Pensions in two weeks.
“My constant plea is to try to ensure the prison service gets the resources it requires to ensure we are recruiting and retaining people with skills and experience to make sure these problems don’t happen.”
The Liberal Democrat MP for Chelmsford, Marie Goldman, said Kebatu “must now be deported” and also pushed for a national inquiry.
Earlier, Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said the incident showed that the UK’s “once-trusted institutions”, including the police and prisons, were “disintegrating before our eyes”.
