A convicted migrant sex offender who was wrongly released from prison in a shocking blunder has now been deported from the UK with no right to return, the Home Office has confirmed.
Hadush Kebatu, who sexually assaulted a 14-year-old girl and a woman in Epping, Essex, was supposed to be transferred from HMP Chelmsford to an immigration detention centre on Friday under the Early Removal Scheme for foreign offenders. Instead, he was mistakenly set free, sparking a two-day nationwide manhunt.
Police finally recaptured Kebatu in North London on Sunday after a vigilant member of the public spotted him near Finsbury Park station.
‘Our Streets Are Safer Because He’s Gone’
Kebatu was deported to Ethiopia on Tuesday night and landed the following morning, according to the Home Office.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said she shared the public’s fury over the error:
“Last week’s blunder should never have happened and I share the public’s anger that it did. I have pulled every lever to deport Mr Kebatu and remove him from British soil. I am pleased to confirm this vile child sex offender has been deported. Our streets are safer because of it.”
Government Launches Urgent Inquiry
The government has now ordered an urgent review into how the error occurred and how such incidents can be prevented in future.
Home Office Minister Alex Norris said in reports:
“We accept this was a blunder, we’re really angry about it, as I know the public are. The situation has ended in the way it had to end.”
Immediate security controls have been introduced across prisons, including tighter identity checks for offenders being released for deportation.
An independent inquiry, led by Dame Lynne Owens, former Deputy Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, will investigate whether staff training and technology were adequate. Owens will also meet with Kebatu’s victims and make recommendations for reform.
A prison officer has been suspended, and all early removals from HMP Chelmsford have been temporarily paused while the investigation continues.
Local MP Neil Hudson said the community in Epping Forest would be “very relieved” by Kebatu’s deportation.
“No one wants to see our hometown making national headlines for this kind of failure,” he said. “It’s incredibly frustrating the government must get a grip.”
Kebatu, who crossed the Channel on a small boat last year, had been living in an asylum hotel before his arrest. He was convicted of five sexual offences and sentenced to 12 months in custody.
Under UK law, any foreign national sentenced to at least a year in prison must face automatic deportation, though, as this case showed, sometimes even that process isn’t foolproof.
