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Caption: Video appears to show escaped migrant Hadush Kebatu spotted in Chelmsford – 24 OCT 2025 / Kebatu, 41, was accidentally let loose from HMP Chelmsford this morning sparking manhunt for Epping hotel migrant sex attacker Convicted sex offender Hadush Kebatu has been arrested in north London, two days after he was mistakenly released from prison. The former asylum seeker was wrongly set free when he was due to be sent to an immigration detention centre to be deported on Friday. He was arrested this morning in the Finsbury Park area of London, the Metropolitan Police confirmed. Kebatu became one of the country’s highest-profile sex offenders after reports of his crimes sparked protests at the Bell Hotel in Epping, where he was staying while seeking asylum after arriving in the UK by small boat. The Ethiopian national told two teenagers he wanted to ‘have a baby with each of them’ before trying to kiss them, putting his hand on one of the girls’ thighs and stroking her hair. Kebatu was seen at a library in Dalston before he was arrested He also sexually assaulted a woman by trying to kiss her, putting his hand on her leg and telling her she was pretty. In response, demonstrators began to gather outside the hotel where he was staying, and protests spread to other hotels housing migrants. The local council sought an injunction trying to ban the hotel from being used to house asylum seekers – but this was overturned after the government appealed. Demonstrators gather outside The Civic Offices in a protest against housing of asylum seekers at The Bell Hotel in Epping on August 31, 2025 (Picture: Getty) Kebatu’s release caused major embarrassment for the government, with Justice Secretary David Lammy saying he was ‘livid’ on behalf of the public over the error. This morning, Health Secretary Wes Streeting said: ‘There does need to be accountability for such an egregious failure.’ Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said: ‘Hadush Kebatu has been arrested and will be deported. ‘Officers have worked quickly and diligently to bring him back into custody. ‘We have ordered an investigation to establish what went wrong. We must make sure this doesn’t happen again.’ UPDATE: Hadush Kebatu, who was released in error from HMP Chelmsford, has been arrested. Kebatu was located by Met officers near Finsbury Park at around 8.30am thanks to information received from a member of the public.He will be returned to the custody of the Prison Service.— Metropolitan Police (@metpoliceuk) October 26, 2025 In a statement, the Metropolitan Police said: ‘Hadush Kebatu, who was released in error from HMP Chelmsford, has been arrested. ‘Kebatu was located by Met officers near Finsbury Park at around 8.30am thanks to information received from a member of the public. ‘He will be returned to the custody of the Prison Service.’ Former prison officer reveals shocking string of errors that would have led to mistaken release An ex-prison officer has revealed exactly where it went wrong after a migrant sex offender Hadush Kebatu was mistakenly released. The officer, who has worked in the UK’s most notorious high-security units including HMP Frankland, told Metro that releasing the wrong prisoner is ‘the worst mistake any officer can make’. He explained that what caused the actual mistake would have been down to human error – adding that incredibly it could have come down to the convict’s name being mispelled or the wrong file was grabbed. This would have then allowed Kebatu to simply walk out the door with the £76 discharge grant handed to him by the prison to cover his first week’s expenses. However, the officer pointed out there would have been at least 10 officers overseeing the release, and it should have been spotted long before his release form was signed. ‘There’s not just one point of failure and shouldn’t be put on the officer who was at the reception desk to release him,’ the ex-prison officer explained. ‘The release plan is first communicated from the operations room, then to the managers on the wing, then to the officers who will get the prisoner and walk him to where he needs to be.’ Read more here. Got a story? Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk. Or you can submit your videos and pictures here. For more stories like this, check our news page. Follow Metro.co.uk on Twitter and Facebook for the latest news updates. You can now also get Metro.co.uk articles sent straight to your device. Sign up for our daily push alerts here.
