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Judge Rebukes Prison Service After Wrongful Release of Child Abductor Feared to Have Fled

A three-day failure to alert police likely gave him time to leave the country.

Overview

  • Police told the High Court on Monday they believe Ifedayo Adeyeye entered Spain on April 22, and they said Spanish authorities have been notified.
  • Adeyeye was freed from HMP Pentonville on April 21 despite being given a further 12‑month sentence the day before and facing extradition to France once it was served.
  • After walking out, he moved around London, ate and drank at a pub, and transferred thousands of pounds before staff informed the Metropolitan Police on April 24.
  • Mr Justice Hayden said the public is entitled to expect better, rejecting the prison service’s claim of a court “communication failure” as groundless.
  • Ministry of Justice data show 179 wrongful releases between April 2025 and March 2026, with up to £82 million pledged to cut such errors, a gap that has left the child’s mother without contact for nearly two years and shaken confidence in release safeguards.