"The former asylum seeker Hadush Kebatu was wrongly freed from HMP Chelmsford on Friday morning, instead of being sent to an immigration detention centre. The Ethiopian national, who had been living at the Bell hotel in Epping, in Essex, when he sexually assaulted a 14-year-old girl, later travelled to London. He was arrested on Sunday morning in Finsbury Park after a two-day manhunt."
"According to government figures published in July, 262 prisoners were released in error in the year to March 2025 a 128% increase on 115 in the previous 12 months. Reed said there had been no change in policy under Labour that led to the rise and blamed the situation on staffing cuts made by the previous Tory administration. If the previous government cut the number of staff by a third, if they fail to build prison places, I'm afraid then disasters will happen,"
"The justice secretary, David Lammy, will set out a series of measures aimed at strengthening the system in England and Wales as he faces questions from MPs in parliament about the error. The father of Kebatu's teenage victim said he hoped the sex offender, whose application for asylum was rejected, would be deported immediately. Lammy said that should happen after he was questioned by police later this week."
A convicted sex offender, Hadush Kebatu, was mistakenly released from HMP Chelmsford instead of being transferred to an immigration detention centre and was later re-arrested in London after a two-day manhunt. The justice secretary will introduce strengthened pre-release checks across England and Wales in response. Government figures show 262 prisoners were accidentally released in the year to March 2025, a substantial increase from the previous year. Ministers attributed the rise to staffing cuts under the prior administration and pledged reforms while inspectors requested details of the new governor checklists.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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