When Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais were penning the sublime prison comedy Porridge , they would no doubt have decided that recent events at HMP Wandsworth were too off-the-wall for a within-the-walls parody. Too fanciful. A touch unrealistic. Shading on unbelievable.

Until now.

In the past week, two prisoners have been released in error from the prison, which follows the accidental release of Hadush Kebatu, a migrant sex offender, last month at HMP Chelmsford.

“To lose one… may be regarded as a misfortune; to lose both looks like carelessness,” wrote Oscar Wilde in The Importance of Being Earnest . Oscar served time.

And so did I. In 2011, I was sentenced to 15 months imprisonment for theft from my employer. Bang to rights. I have never – ever – complained about being parachu

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