A migrant sex offender, mistakenly released from prison, reportedly received a £500 payment after threatening to obstruct his deportation from the UK to Ethiopia.
Hadush Kebatu, who had been incarcerated for sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl and a woman while residing in an asylum hotel in Epping, Essex, was erroneously freed by prison staff on Friday. He was subsequently re-arrested after two days.
According to the Home Office, the Ethiopian national was placed on a flight Tuesday night and arrived in Ethiopia the following morning.
Sir Keir Starmer’s spokesman stated that the payment was made by the removal team as an alternative to a more prolonged and costly process.
The spokesman added that Kebatu was “forcibly deported” and accompanied by five escorts on the flight.
Meanwhile, Kebatu told Sky News that he attempted to surrender himself to a police officer the day before his re-arrest but was ignored.
“I [told] police, look here, police I am wanted man, I am arrested, I will give you my hand, please help where is police station? He ignored me, he drove [off],” Kebatu reportedly said upon arriving back in Ethiopia.
In a statement, the Metropolitan Police indicated that it was “not aware of any evidence to support the claims that Kebatu approached officers on Saturday morning”.
“The actions of officers who responded to the sighting of him on Sunday morning show how seriously they were taking the manhunt. Kebatu’s actions on the morning of his arrest were more like those of someone trying to avoid officers, not trying to hand himself in,” the force elaborated.
Payments for removals are standard under the Facilitated Returns Scheme, which provides foreign nationals who agree to leave the UK with £1,500.
Downing Street stated that Kebatu had attempted to apply for the Facilitated Returns Scheme, but his application was denied.
The BBC understands that his application was rejected because the government sought to remove him swiftly and avoid paying him £1,500.
While “forcible” returns typically do not involve payments, removal teams have the discretion to make payments to ensure a smooth process.
Concerns arose that re-booking flights would incur significantly higher costs, potentially amounting to several thousands of pounds, and could lead to costly legal challenges.
Sources indicate that the decision to make the payment to Kebatu was made by the removal team, not government ministers.
The prime minister’s spokesman stated that the payment averted a “slower, more expensive process for the taxpayer, which would have included detention, a new flight and potentially fighting subsequent legal claims.”
Kebatu arrived in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, early on Wednesday and was briefly held by officers at the airport before being released, according to Ethiopian police speaking to the BBC.
Jaylan Abde, head of communications for the Ethiopian Federal Police, stated that there was “no legal basis for his continued detention”.
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch described the payment as an “outrageous waste of taxpayers’ money.”
“Hadush Kebatu should have been deported immediately, not released and sent home with pocket money,” she stated. “The Conservatives have a serious plan to leave the ECHR and deport all foreign criminals.”
The Liberal Democrats called the payment “outrageous” and said that people would “rightly be angry”.
“Public trust was completely trashed after Kebatu’s wrongful release and now this,” said the party’s home affairs spokesperson Max Wilkinson.
“We need to fix our fundamentally broken immigration system.”
Reform UK described the payment as an “insult of the highest order”.
“We have a government that’s failing to keep its people safe, failing to lock up criminals, and wasting endless amounts of taxpayer money while doing so,” said head of policy Zia Yusuf.
Announcing Kebatu’s removal earlier on Wednesday, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood stated: “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 off British soil. I am pleased to confirm this vile child sex offender has been deported. Our streets are safer because of it,” she added.
On Friday, Kebatu was scheduled to be transferred from HMP Chelmsford to an immigration detention center for deportation under an early removals scheme (ERS) for foreign national offenders.
Instead, he was released in what Justice Secretary David Lammy previously described as apparent “human error”.
By the time Essex Police were notified of the situation shortly before 13:00, he had approached members of the public in the city center for assistance and boarded a train to London.
He was arrested in north London on Sunday morning after a member of the public contacted the police to report a possible sighting near Finsbury Park station.
Home Office Minister of State Alex Norris told BBC Breakfast: “We accept this was a blunder – we’re really angry about it as I know the public are.”
He stated that “immediate controls” had been implemented in prisons to prevent a recurrence of the incident, including more “stringent” checks when offenders leave prisons for deportation, and that an independent inquiry would identify lessons learned.
The independent investigation will aim to determine how Kebatu was released and whether staff possessed adequate experience, training, and technology.
The inquiry chair, former Metropolitan Police deputy commissioner Dame Lynne Owens, will also consult with Kebatu’s victims and make recommendations to prevent further mistaken releases, which have increased in recent years.
An urgent review has been commissioned into the checks conducted during prison releases. A prison officer has been suspended, and no removals from HMP Chelmsford under the ERS will take place this week.
Epping Forest’s Conservative MP, Neil Hudson, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that the community would be “very relieved” by Kebatu’s removal.
“No one wants to see our hometown the lead story on the news,” he said, adding that the local authority’s legal challenge to block migrants from lodging at The Bell Hotel, where Kebatu had been staying, was ongoing.
“The events over the weekend… have really brought things to the surface again,” he said. “This is incredibly frustrating and the government must get a grip.”
Kebatu arrived in the UK after crossing the Channel on a small boat on 29 June, having travelled through Sudan, Libya, Italy, and France.
His arrest in July sparked a wave of protests outside The Bell Hotel in Epping, which was being used to accommodate asylum seekers, including Kebatu.
Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court heard that Kebatu had attempted to kiss a teenage girl in the town center and made sexually explicit comments to her.
The following day, he encountered the same girl and attempted to kiss her before sexually assaulting her and another woman.
He denied the charges against him but was found guilty of five offenses and sentenced to 12 months in custody, including the time he had already spent in jail awaiting his trial.
A deportation order is mandatory when a foreign national is sentenced to 12 months or more in custody, according to the UK Borders Act 2007.
During Kebatu’s trial, the court heard it was his “firm wish” to be deported.
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