About 1,700 prisoners were released from jails across England and Wales on 10 September in a bid to cut overcrowding.
Dozens of people released from jail under the government’s emergency prison scheme were freed by mistake.
A Ministry of Justice source said 37 people were released in error on 10 September, because their offences for breaching restraining orders were wrongly logged under repealed legislation.
This meant these cases were not flagged for exemptions, which were designed to prevent those guilty of certain types of crime from being released.
Five prisoners have not yet been returned to jail but most have been brought back into custody.
One of those mistakenly released is understood to have allegedly reoffended, charged with ‘intentionally touching’ a woman. He was recalled to prison.
A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: “Public safety is our first priority. That is why we took decisive action to fix the broken prison system we inherited and keep the most dangerous offenders locked up.
“This included blocking the early release of domestic abuse offences such as stalking and controlling behaviour.
“We are working with the police to urgently return a very small number of offenders – who were charged incorrectly and sentenced under repealed legislation – to custody.
“The convictions remain valid with offenders monitored since their release and will soon be back behind bars.”
In a post on X, shadow home secretary James Cleverly criticised the government for “wrong priorities” and “bad decisions”.
“The British people can see this clueless, heartless Labour government for what it is,” he added.