Sex offender who sparked summer riots seen on London-bound train after mistaken release, police say | Immigration and asylum

A former asylum seeker who was mistakenly released from prison after sexually assaulting a woman and a 14-year-old girl was seen boarding a train to London, Essex Police said.

Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy said on Friday evening that Kebatu was now “at large in London” and that the Metropolitan Police were assisting in the search.

Ethiopian national Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu was jailed for 12 months in September for sexual assault and made the subject of a five-year sexual harm prevention order.

The 41-year-old was due to be sent to an immigration detention center for deportation but was released in error, it has been reported, and Essex Police are now urgently trying to trace him.

Police confirmed Kebatu was seen boarding a train at Chelmsford station at 12.41pm on Friday.

A statement from the force said: “We were informed today at 12:57 p.m. by the prison service of an error this morning regarding the release of an individual.

“As a result, we have launched a search operation to locate them and are working closely with partner agencies.

“We understand the public’s concern about this situation and can assure you that we have officers working to locate and arrest him as a matter of urgency.”

Keir Starmer said he was “appalled” by the mistake. “This man must be arrested and deported for his crimes,” he added.

Prison service sources said the release was due to human error. It is understood that the prison guard who authorized the release has been removed from his post while an urgent investigation is underway.

A prison source described it as a “disaster waiting to happen” due to the high volume of releases processed by inexperienced staff, with dozens of prisoners serving different tariffs being released at the same time.

Recent legislative changes mean foreign criminals such as Kebatu can be deported from England and Wales after serving a shorter sentence than domestic criminals. Kebatu was automatically eligible for immediate deportation upon conviction due to the time he had already spent in pre-trial detention.

Lammy said there was “no excuse” for the erroneous release, but that Labor had inherited “a collapsing prison system”.

He said: “Let’s be clear, we inherited a broken prison system, where the last government was releasing people early and where our prisons were overflowing.

“And indeed, we have a sentencing bill in Parliament that seeks to address this problem, and we have stabilized the system.

“But that cannot be an excuse to wrongfully release an individual, a dangerous individual, into the community.

He was reportedly due to be flown back “shortly” from the detention center to Ethiopia. Offenders subject to deportation are normally transferred by a secure prison van directly to the removal center.

Kebatu was found guilty of two counts of sexual assault and one of attempted sexual assault in July, days after arriving in the UK on a small boat and staying at the Bell Hotel in Epping.

He was also convicted of one count of inciting a young girl to engage in sexual activity and one count of harassment without violence. He has been in prison since September 23.

His case sparked protests outside the Bell Hotel, which far-right activists sought to exploit, leading to attacks on police officers and 32 arrests.

A Prison Service spokesperson said: “We are working urgently with the police to return an offender to custody following an erroneous release to HMP Chelmsford.

“Protecting the public is our top priority and we have opened an investigation into this incident.”

Britain’s Reform leader Nigel Farage said: “The migrant sex attacker from the Epping Hotel… is now walking the streets of Essex. Britain is broken.”

Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick said: “Remember: they told you that local mothers protesting outside the hotel where this sex offender was staying were the problem. »

Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, said: “It is shameful that a dangerous convicted pedophile who attacked a 14-year-old girl was allowed to disappear. This despicable man is an illegal immigrant who should have been deported upon arrival.

“This is breathtaking incompetence from David Lammy and Shabana Mahmood. [the home secretary]. They put our children at greater risk by letting this dangerous illegal immigrant onto our streets. They are responsible for everything he can do.

“This should never have happened. Illegal immigrants should be deported within a week – but the Labor government is too weak to do it.

“Whether it was a migrant who was broken into and deported back to the UK, the failed rape gang investigation, new revelations of spying in China, illegal entries recorded and now, it has been another litany of failures from the Home Office and the Home Secretary this week.” Chelmsford Liberal Democrat MP Marie Goldman said she was struggling not to call for the resignation of the HMP Chelmsford governor.