POLICE have launched an urgent manhunt after a prisoner managed to escape notorious Wormwood Scrubs by slipping free from guards.
He is understood to still be on the run after making a break for it on Wednesday while being taken to hospital.
The inmate is the second prisoner to go on the run from the infamous jail in three years.
Convict Manray Woolfall also managed to escape while on a trip to hospital in 2021 – with police issuing an urgent plea for members of the public to call 999 if they saw him.
HMP Wormwood Scrubs is a Victorian-era category B men’s prison in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham which houses around 1,000 inmates.
Last year Daniel Khalife managed to go on the run for four days after masterminding an escape from Wandsworth Prison by clinging onto the bottom of a van.
The Justice Secretary is under pressure to improve conditions in the UK’s jails with overcrowding causing security issues as officers struggle to cope with surging numbers.
Shabana Mahmood announced last week that prisoners will now be released after serving just 40 per cent of their sentences rather than at the half way point.
Draft legislation shows the first wave will start to be let out on September 10, when those serving terms under five years will be eligible.
Then on October 22 lags who are behind bars for sentences longer than five years will be included in the emergency measure.
Senior prison sources have previously warned that the country’s prisons are close to breaking point – with just 700 free spots.
Ms Mahmood said in a statement to the House of Commons on Thursday: “Since this Government took office two weeks ago, it has become clear that our prisons are in crisis and are at the point of collapse.
“The male prison estate has been running at over 99% capacity for the last 18 months. We now know that my predecessor warned No. 10 Downing Street but, rather than address this crisis, the former Prime Minister called an election, leaving a ticking time bomb.
“If that bomb were to go off—if our prisons were to run out of space—the courts would grind to a halt, suspects could not be held in custody and police officers would be unable to make arrests, leaving criminals free to act without consequence.
“In short, if we fail to act now, we face the prospect of a total breakdown of law and order.”
She stressed that they are taking “every precaution” available to the Government to protect the public.
Sexual offenders, domestic abusers, and terrorists will be excluded from the scheme.
