Mistaken prison releases could be ‘opportunity’ for justice secretary, Harriet Harman says

Published

12 hours ago

November 7, 2025

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Multiple mistaken prisoner releases could actually be an “opportunity” for David Lammy, Harriet Harman has said.

Speaking to Sky News’ Electoral Dysfunction podcast with political editor Beth Rigby, the Labour peer said the release errors are a chance for the justice secretary to “roll up his sleeves” and sort out his department.

It emerged on Wednesday that two prisoners were wrongly freed from HMP Wandsworth last week. It follows the high-profile release of migrant sex offender Hadush Kebatu from HMP Chelmsford.

Baroness Harman said this has “shone a spotlight on a systemic problem which needs to be sorted out”.

Rather than become a “ding dong” between Labour and the Tories, she said: “I think ironically it’s a bit of an opportunity for him [Lammy] to actually be able to roll up his sleeves and insist the department gets the resources and the focus it needs to sort out this problem, which is not a new problem.”

She added that figures showing 262 prisoners were mistakenly released in the 12 months to March 2025 is “five a week, more or less being let out early” and “we don’t even know that is the full extent”.

Mr Lammy, who is also the deputy prime minister, is under fire over his handling of the saga.

He stood in for Sir Keir Starmer at PMQs on Wednesday when he refused to answer whether any more asylum seekers had been wrongly released since Kebatu, an Ethiopian national, who was later deported.

As PMQs was ending, the story broke that Algerian sex offender Brahim Kaddour-Cherif had been released in error. It has since emerged that Mr Lammy was made aware of this overnight on Tuesday.

He has defended not revealing that he knew about the incident, saying he did not have the full details and did not want to mislead the public.

Mr Lammy is also being criticised as following Kebatu’s mistaken release, he promised on 27 October that stronger prison checks would be introduced immediately.

But Kaddour-Cherif was released in error two days later, on 29 October, while another prisoner, William “Billy” Smith, was mistakenly released on Monday.

Smith handed himself in on Thursday, while Kaddour-Cherif is still on the run.

Politics

Japan’s FSA backs joint stablecoin initiative by nation’s top banks

Published

6 hours ago

November 7, 2025

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Japan’s FSA backs joint stablecoin initiative by nation’s top banks

Japan’s financial regulator, the Financial Services Agency (FSA), endorsed a project by the country’s largest financial institutions to jointly issue yen-backed stablecoins.

In a Friday statement, the FSA announced the launch of its “Payment Innovation Project” as a response to progress in “the use of blockchain technology to enhance payments.” The initiative involves Mizuho Bank, Mitsubishi UFJ Bank, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, Mitsubishi Corporation and its financial arm and Progmat, MUFG’s stablecoin issuance platform.

The announcement follows recent reports that those companies plan to modernize corporate settlements and reduce transaction costs through a yen-based stablecoin project built on MUFG’s stablecoin issuance platform Progmat. The institutions in question serve over 300,000 corporate clients.

The regulator noted that, starting this month, the companies will begin issuing payment stablecoins. The initiative aims to improve user convenience, enhance Japanese corporate productivity and innovate the local financial landscape.

The participating companies are expected to ensure that users are protected and informed about the systems they use. “After the completion of the pilot project, the FSA plans to publish the results and conclusions,” the announcement reads.

The announcement follows the Monday launch of Tokyo-based fintech firm JPYC’s Japan-first yen-backed stablecoin, along with a dedicated platform. The company’s president, Noriyoshi Okabe, said at the time that seven companies are already planning to incorporate the new stablecoin.

Japanese regulators focus on crypto

Recently, Japanese regulators have been hard at work setting new rules for the cryptocurrency industry. So much so that Bybit, the world’s second-largest crypto exchange by trading volume, announced it will pause new user registrations in the country as it adapts to the new conditions.

Local regulators seem to be opening up to the industry. Earlier this month, the FSA was reported to be preparing to review regulations that could allow banks to acquire and hold cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin (BTC) for investment purposes.

At the same time, Japan’s securities regulator was also reported to be working on regulations to ban and punish crypto insider trading. Following the change, Japan’s Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission would be authorized to investigate suspicious trading activity and impose fines on violators.