Wandsworth prisoner mistakenly freed found after three days on the run

William Smith was released in error from HMP Wandsworth on Monday (3 November)
William Smith could be ‘anywhere’ in Surrey (Picture: Surrey Police)

A prisoner mistakenly freed from a London prison earlier this week has been found after a three-day manhunt.

William Smith, also known as Billy, was sentenced to four years in jail after being convicted of multiple fraud offences on Monday.

But the 35-year-old fraudster was freed from HMP Wandsworth in the affluent south London suburb that same day.

Smith was photographed earlier today handing himself in and being escorted back to prison – but not before smoking a cigarette.

HM Prison Wandsworth is pictured in south London on November 7, 2025. British police said on November 5, 2025, they had launched a manhunt for two prisoners, including an Algerian, mistakenly released from Wandsworth jail, angering parliamentarians at the latest mix-up committed by the UK's beleaguered prison system. London's Metropolitan Police force said in a statement it was looking for 24-year-old Brahim Kaddour Cherif, a registered sex offender, after he was released in error a week ago. Separately, police in Surrey, southwest of London, said that Wandsworth prison had on Monday mistakenly released another man, William 'Billy' Smith', convicted of multiple fraud offences. (Photo by Niklas HALLE'N / AFP) (Photo by NIKLAS HALLE'N/AFP via Getty Images)
Two inmates were released from HM Prison Wandsworth this week (Picture: AFP)

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He was reportedly freed due to a mix-up with his surname – his co-defendant, handed a suspended sentence, has his same surname, Smith.

Surrey Police revealed Smith was on the run on the same day that the authorities said Brahim Kaddour-Cherif, a 24-year-old Algerian man, was freed last Wednesday from HMP Wandsworth.

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