Overview
- Police detained Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu at around 8:30am on Sunday in Finsbury Park after a public tip, and he will be returned to Prison Service custody.
- Kebatu was erroneously released on Friday instead of being transferred to immigration detention and was seen traveling by train from Chelmsford to Stratford in east London.
- Justice Secretary David Lammy ordered urgent investigations and will announce a full independent inquiry in Parliament, and a prison officer was removed from discharge duties pending the probe.
- Officials say deportation remains the intended outcome, with ministers expecting it to proceed this week once police have completed questioning.
- Kebatu was convicted in September of five sexual offences, receiving a 12‑month sentence, a five‑year sexual harm prevention order and 10 years on the sex offenders’ register, as data show releases in error have risen 128% year on year and inspectors flagged pressures at HMP Chelmsford.