Migrant sex offender released due to ‘human error’, says Lammy

An independent investigation has been launched after an immigrant sex offender was mistakenly released from prison in what appeared to be “human error”, Justice Secretary David Lammy said.

In a statement to the House of Commons, Lammy said the inquiry would seek to “establish the full facts” of Hadush Kebatu’s release and whether the staff involved had “sufficient experience, training and technology”.

Kebatu, who was scheduled to be deported, was mistakenly released from HMP Chelmsford on Friday, sparking a 48-hour manhunt that culminated in his re-arrest in North London on Sunday.

Responding to Lammy’s statement, shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick described Kebatu’s release as a “national disgrace”.

Lammy said Kebatu would be returned to Ethiopia “as quickly as possible.”

Earlier on Monday, a spokesman for Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer suggested the deportation would take place within a few days.

Kebatu was jailed last month for sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl and a woman in July in Epping, Essex, where he had been living in an asylum hotel since arriving in the UK on a small boat.

His arrest triggered a series of protests in the region, which spread to hotels housing asylum seekers across the country.

Lammy told MPs Kebatu was due to be taken to an immigration detention center for deportation under the early deportation scheme (ERS) for foreign national criminals but was instead released “by what appeared to be human error”.

“I have made it clear from the beginning that this kind of mistake is unacceptable,” he said in his speech to MPs.

“We must get to the bottom of what happened and take immediate action to prevent similar posts from being published inadvertently to protect the public from harm.”

Lammy said the independent inquiry would be chaired by former Metropolitan Police deputy commissioner Dame Lynne Owens.

Lammy said Dame Lynne would also speak to Kebatu victims to “understand the impact of this incident on them”.

“The report will highlight points of failure and make recommendations to help prevent faulty releases, which have increased on an annual basis since 2021, from an average of nine per month in 2023 to 17 per month from January to June 2024,” he added.

“And I’m sure one inaccurate publication would be one too many, which is why we’ve launched this independent investigation.”

A prison officer was suspended while the investigation was ongoing.

The government gave instructions to prison administrators Implement new procedures to prevent recurrence Kebatu’s accidental release.

Lammy said he had ordered an “urgent review” of the checks carried out when someone is released from prison. He told MPs new safeguards had been added, equivalent to the “strongest eviction controls ever imposed”.

Lammy, who is also deputy prime minister, said foreign criminals facing deportation could only be released from prison if a designated governor was physically present.

The Prison Governors Association said the additional checks were “undoubtedly” the result of the need to do something after an apparent failure of procedures, but whether they would solve the problems “we won’t know until the problems are identified”.

There will be no removals from HMP Chelmsford under ERS this week.

The number of prisoners released by mistake increased sharply; The number of prisoners mistakenly released between April 2024 and March 2025 was 262. This number was 115 compared to the same period of the previous year.

Lammy suggested Kebatu’s mistaken release was a “symptom” of the prison system Labor had inherited from the previous Conservative government.

Prison staffing has been reduced by 30 per cent and more than half of front-line prison officers now have less than five years of experience, Lammy said.

“With the system brought to its knees, it’s hardly surprising that these kinds of errors occur,” he added.

In response, Jenrick said the botched release was “a national disgrace and today the justice secretary is feigning anger at what happened”.

He called on Lammy to give him “cast iron assurances” that Kebatu would be deported from the country by the end of the week.