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Lara Bowman and Summer Raemason – The Sun October 26, 2025 - 1:11PM Share via Email Share on Facebook Share on Whatsapp Listen to this article Copied URL to clipboard UK’s disastrous immigration crisis exposed The UK’s failing immigration policy has been exposed. It has been revealed that an Iranian migrant re-entered the UK just weeks after... Prison staff directed a sex offender migrant, who was accidentally freed, towards a station to help him get a train to London, a witness claimed. A delivery driver who spoke to wrongly released Hadush Kebatu outside HMP Chelmsford alleged jail staff told the inmate “Go, you’ve been released, you go”, The Sun reports. The driver, called Sim, claimed Kebatu was “confused” and had approached him asking questions, as reported by Sky News UK. “He came out of the airlock, and kept saying to the officers there, ‘Where am I going? What am I doing? I don’t know where I’m going and what I’m doing’,” said Sim. “He knew he’d been deported. He came over to me and said, ‘I need you to help me’. “His English was pretty good.” Copied URL to clipboard Sex offender at centre of manhunt spotted in busy street Ethiopian national Hadush Kebatu, who was accidentally released from... Sim, who was making a delivery to the prison at the time, said jail staff pointed the convicted sex offender towards Chelmsford station. The driver claimed Kebatu was loitering around outside HMP Chelmsford for 90 minutes before he left. “They [the officers] were basically sending him away, saying, ‘Go, you’ve been released, you go’,” claimed Sim. He added how the inmate appeared very confused and kept asking where he should go. Migrant Hadush Kebatu was wrongly released from jail. Picture: Essex Police / AFP Get all the latest news happening around the world as it happens — download the news.com.au app direct to your phone. It comes as the Metropolitan police are now leading the hunt for Kebatu, after his accidental jail release. In the latest update, police said Kebatu has access to funds and has made several train journeys. Commander James Conway, who is leading the manhunt, urged Kebatu to give himself up. He said: “I am making a direct appeal to Mr Kebatu. We want to locate you in a safe and in a controlled way. “You had already indicated a desire to return to Ethiopia when speaking to immigration staff. “The best outcome for you is to make contact directly with us by either calling 999 or reporting yourself to a police station.” The on-the-run sex offender has access to funds and has made several train journeys across London, police said. He was meant to be sent to an immigration detention centre to be deported “within days” but was accidentally freed instead, The Sun revealed yesterday. The Met confirmed there is a “high level of confidence” the asylum seeker is in the London area. A witness told media the sex offender from Ethiopia appeared ‘confused’ when he approached him asking questions. Picture: Supplied He has been seen on CCTV footage dressed in a grey tracksuit outfit and carrying an avocado-printed tote bag. Picture: Supplied Kebatu is understood to have boarded a train for London, and alighted at Stratford station, the force said. Anyone who sees the migrant or knows where he is, has been urged to call 999 immediately. Commander James Conway, of the Metropolitan Police, said finding Hadush Kebatu is a “top priority” for the force. Kebatu was jailed after being convicted of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old schoolgirl in Epping, leading to nationwide protests outside of migrant hotels. The criminal, understood to be an “escape risk”, was spotted yesterday walking Chelmsford High Street before getting on a train at Chelmsford railway station to London. Convicted sex offender Kebatu was seen making his way along the town centre street – still wearing his prison issue grey tracksuit – and clutching a clear bag filled with possessions. The Ethiopian was only in prison for a matter of weeks before he was accidentally released. He was freed on the expectation that he would be picked up by immigration enforcement for deportation – due on a flight out of the country “within days”, it is understood. It is unclear what happened next. ‘It’s appalling’ It comes as the father of Kebatu’s young victim spoke out in the wake of the monumental blunder. He told Sky News he felt “let down” by the authorities and was left “frustrated” thinking that Kebatu had managed to escape custody. The father went on to say: “The justice system has let us down.” It was been revealed police failed to contact the schoolgirl victim or her family as they embarked on the manhunt. Officers told Chelmsford residents, from station staff to eyewitnesses, to “keep quiet” about the search for Kebatu. A friend of her father told The Sun: “It’s appalling that the state didn’t even bother to tell the teenage girl and her family that the predator who attacked her was looming large.” Police continue to search for Kebatu who was released from HMP Chelmsford while being transferred to an immigration detention centre. Picture: Alishia Abodunde/Getty Images Station staff said officers instructed them not to speak about the search, while a homeless man, Steve, said: “The police asked me at around three if I’d seen the man, they seemed stressed, man. “I got they didn’t want people to freak out, but it was blooming obvious with all the sirens around by that point.” Meanwhile, a National Rail employee said his colleague had spoken to Kebatu at the station and that “he apparently was terrified and confused, and holding a bag”. “Then at around three, when my shift started, hordes of police arrived but they told us not to tell anyone what was going on,” he added. Essex Police said in a previous update: “We were informed by the prison service at 12.57pm today of an error this morning surrounding the release of an individual. “As a result of that, we have launched a search operation to locate them and are working closely with partner agencies. “These fast-paced enquiries have shown that the man boarded a London-bound train at Chelmsford Railway Station at 12.41pm. “We understand the concern the public would have regarding this situation and can assure you we have officers working to urgently locate and detain him. “We would appeal to anyone who has seen him or has any information regarding where he might be to call 999 immediately and quote 0474 of 24 October.” British Prime Minister Keir said it is unacceptable and police are urgently trying to hunt him down. Picture: Leon Neal/Getty Images Reform UK party leader Nigel Farage described Britain as ‘broken’ after the man’s mistaken release. Picture: Jack Taylor/Getty Images Prime Minister Keir Starmer said: “The mistaken release at HMP Chelmsford is totally unacceptable. I am appalled that it has happened and it’s being investigated. “The police are working urgently to track him down, and my government is supporting them. “This man must be caught and deported for his crimes.” Justice Secretary David Lammy is understood to be “furious” at Kebatu’s release and is working with police to find the criminal. A senior justice source said: “He has been released in error – this is the mother of all f**k ups. It is down to human error, with the wrong paperwork on it or something. “David Lammy is aware – and is furious.” Reform leader Nigel Farage was seething at the news, he slammed: “The Epping hotel migrant sex attacker has been accidentally freed rather than deported. “He is now walking the streets of Essex. Britain is broken.” More Coverage ‘Broken Britain’: UK erupts, horror mistake Sayan Bose, The Sun World loses it at Louvre escape method A prison officer was taken off duties of discharging lags after news of the accidental release broke. It is understood that an investigation into the blunder is underway. This story originally appeared in The Sun and was reproduced with permission. More related stories Woman who raped, murdered 12yo learns fate A French court has sentenced an Algerian woman who raped, tortured and murdered a schoolgirl in Paris. ‘Broken Britain’: UK erupts, horror mistake There’s been a shocking update after an asylum seeker and sex offender’s crimes sparked nationwide protests in the UK. Details of pedophile’s death in prison Two inmates have been charged with murder after convicted pedophile and former Lostprophets singer Ian Watkins wasfatally stabbed in prison. 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