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The Epping hotel migrant who was mistakenly released from prison will be deported “this week” after he was recaptured on Sunday.
Hadush Kebatu, who was released in error from HMP Chelmsford, was arrested by Metropolitan Police officers in Finsbury Park, north London, on Sunday morning following a major manhunt.
The asylum seeker, who sexually assaulted a woman and a 14-year-old girl, was supposed to have been sent to an immigration detention centre to be deported, but was mistakenly freed on Friday.
Essex Police said Kebatu, 41, boarded a London-bound train at Chelmsford at 12.41pm following the error. He was then spotted on CCTV inside a library in Dalston Square, east London, at 6pm that evening as the Metropolitan Police took over the hunt.
On Sunday morning, Kebatu was seen at a bus stop by a member of the public, who called the police at 8.03am. He was arrested at 8.19am for being unlawfully at large.
On Monday, justice secretary David Lammy is expected to face questions in parliament while announcing an independent inquiry into what happened. He told broadcasters on Sunday: “This man should have been basically in line to be deported and should not have been released into the community – that should not have happened.”
Mr Lammy also said that the migrant needed to be questioned by police before he is deported, adding: “I can assure you that he will be deported as he was expected to be deported. I expect that to happen this week.”
Prime minister Sir Keir Starmer said: “We must make sure this doesn’t happen again.” The government faces questions over the blunder.
In a statement on X/Twitter, he added: “Hadush Kebatu has been arrested and will be deported. Officers have worked quickly and diligently to bring him back into custody. We have ordered an investigation to establish what went wrong.”
Marie Goldman, the Lib Dem MP for Chelmsford, called for an urgent national inquiry into the incident, saying: “It’s unacceptable that the safety of my constituents, and the people of London, was ever put at risk.”
Shadow home secretary Chris Philp said he remained “shocked that this inept Labour government let him out in the first place”, and that Mr Lammy and Ms Mahmood had “questions to answer”.
A delivery driver described seeing Kebatu return to HMP Chelmsford in a “very confused” state “four or five times”, only to be turned away by prison staff and directed to the railway station.
A prison officer has been taken off duties to discharge prisoners while an investigation into the error takes place.
In September, Kebatu was jailed for 12 months and made the subject of a five-year sexual harm prevention order for five offences, with a judge warning he posed a “significant risk of reoffending”. He was also added to the sex offender register for 10 years.
His crimes sparked major protests and counterprotests outside The Bell Hotel in Epping, where he was staying, and eventually at hotels housing asylum seekers across the country.
A three-day trial at Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court heard that he told two teenagers he wanted to “have a baby with each of them” and attempted to kiss them. He then went on to put his hand on one of the girls’ thighs and stroke her hair during the incident on 7 July.
Kebatu, an Ethiopian national who had arrived in Britain on a small boat days earlier, was also found to have sexually assaulted a woman by trying to kiss her, putting his hand on her leg, and telling her she was pretty.
Sentencing Kebatu last month, a judge told him his behaviour “really highlights the poor regard you must have for women”.
In court, Kebatu gave his date of birth through a translator as being in December 1986, making him 38 years old. However Essex Police have said their records show he was born in 1983, making him 41.
Commander James Conway, who oversaw the manhunt, said: “This has been a diligent and fast-paced investigation led by specialist officers from the Metropolitan Police, supported by Essex Police and the British Transport Police. I am extremely grateful to the public for their support following our appeal, which assisted in locating Mr Kebatu.”
