Police officers missed an opportunity to detain an on-the-run Algerian sex offender after cops were caught running past the convict before eventually spotting him.
Brahim Kaddour-Cherif was finally re-arrested on Friday after mistakenly being released from HMP Wandsworth nine days ago, sparking a huge police manhunt.
The 24-year-old, who had been serving a sentence for trespass with intent to steal and had a previous conviction for indecent exposure, was snared by cops after a tip-off from a member of the public.
They claimed he was spotted in Finsbury Park, the same area where sex attack migrant Hadush Kebatu was arrested two weeks earlier, following yet another error that saw him released by mistake.
When officers arrived at the scene, they were able to eventually track down Kaddour-Cherif and confirm he was the wanted man they were looking for.
But, it has emerged they could have tracked him down a few minutes sooner.
Footage of the moments before his arrests shows two officers racing through the street searching for the escaped sex offender and run past a group of men, unaware that Kaddour-Cherif is among them.
Even after doubling back on themselves, the cops are still unable to spot Kaddour-Cherif, who remains unphased as they continue to scramble around after him.
A police officer appears to run straight past on-the-run Algerian sex offender Brahim Kaddour-Cherif who can be seen standing on the corner of the street in a grey hoodie
Kaddour-Cherif had been serving a sentence at HMP Wandsworth for trespass with intent to steal. He has a past conviction for indecent exposure
The footage, captured by Sky News, later shows reporter Tom Parmenter speaking to the group that Kaddour-Cherif is stood with.
He appears to speak directly to the escaped prisoner and asks him: ‘Are you Brahim?
The 24-year-old then lies, telling the report it is not him.
‘They are looking for the guy who escaped from prison,’ Mr Parmenter explains, to which Kaddour-Cherif brazenly replies: ‘I wish you find him’.
One of the other men whispers that it is him, which prompts the reporter to chase after the convict.
Speaking to the camera, Mr Parmenter says: ‘I reckon it’s him. The man we’ve been talking to is walking away pretty fast now.’
When he eventually catches up to him, Kaddour-Cherif plays off that it isn’t him, instead claiming he saw the wanted man cycle away on a lime bike moments ago.
‘I think the guy you are looking for, he went that way with a lime bike,’ Kaddour-Cherif says, adding that he ‘stole’ the vehicle.
Kaddour-Cherif then appears to walk up to a nearby police van, where he is eventually rumbled by officers.
When confronted by a Sky News journalist, Kaddour-Cherif plays off he is not he inmate at large and instead claims he saw the wanted man cycle away on a lime bike moments ago
During his arrest, Kaddour-Cherif shouted ‘look at the justice of the UK… it’s not my f*****g fault, they released me’ before telling the witness: ‘You called the police?’
Police compare Brahim Kaddour-Cherif with his wanted photo during his arrest on Friday
They begin to handcuff his hands in front of him, telling him: ‘You’re going to be placed under arrest on suspicion of being wanted… because you look identical to the person released from custody.’
An officer, comparing the fugitive with his wanted photo, tells Kaddour-Cherif that he has a ‘very distinctive wonky nose’.
They then bring him to the back of the van and hold up an image of Kaddour-Cherif next to his face before un-cuffing and re-cuffing his hands behind his back.
They later searched his backpack and found a laptop, umbrella and wallet.
Before Kaddour-Cherif was put in the back of the van, he turned to those gathered and said: ‘Look at the justice of the UK they release people by mistake. It’s not my f****** fault.’
When the Sky reporter asks: ‘Why didn’t you hand yourself in?’, Kaddour-Cherif appeared to look at the police around him and said: ‘Do your job.’
He was arrested for being unlawfully at large and on suspicion of assaulting an emergency worker in relation to a previous incident.
While Kaddour-Cherif’s arrest will come as a relief to the government, it will do little to dampen the backlash against David Lammy, who has been branded ‘cowardly’ and ‘incompetent’ for his handling of the issue.
It comes after another prisoner, Billy Smith, 35, was also accidentally freed from Wandsworth on Monday before handing himself back in.
Hadush Kebatu was set free from HMP Chelmsford in error just two weeks before Kaddour-Cherif’s wrongful release
This is the moment Kebatu (second from left) was arrested by Met Police officers in Finsbury Park, north London
British national William Smith (pictured), who goes by Billy, was also mistakenly freed from the scandal-hit prison on Monday but handed himself in
After confirming the Algerian had been rearrested, Mr Lammy said: ‘We inherited a prison system in crisis and I’m appalled at the rate of releases in error this is causing.
‘I’m determined to grip this problem, but there is a mountain to climb which cannot be done overnight.’
Kaddour-Cherif was accidentally let out five days after the wrongful release of Epping migrant hotel sex attacker Kebatu.
Stronger security checks were announced for prisons and an independent investigation was launched into releases in error after Kebatu was accidentally freed on October 24, prompting a three-day manhunt.
The Ethiopian national had been jailed for sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl and a woman, but was freed by mistake instead of being sent to an immigration detention centre. He was later traced and deported.
