Following our last post, let's take a look at some government data on prisoners released in error.

The latest figures show that 262 prisoners in England and Wales were mistakenly released in the year leading up to March 2025, according to the prison service's annual digest.

That's a 128% increase compared to the 115 prisoners released in error in the year ending March 2024.

Of the 262 released by mistake, 233 were from prisons and 29 were released in error by courts.

The prison service says in the report that "releases in error remain infrequent", but adds that the rise is linked to "a range of operational and legislative changes".

"Unfortunately, people will be surprised to know that actually this is quite common," says Shabnam Chaudhri, a former detective superintendent with the Metropolitan Police, talking about the accidental release of Hadush Kebatu.

There are "some real complexities" around documents linked to prisoner release, she says. "The mountain of paperwork that ends up being dealt with is quite staggering really."

"This isn't about the individual that they've actually now taken off duties," she continues, referring to the news that a prison officer has been suspended over this incident.

Chaudhri thinks the real problem is "the systems and processes and policies that are just clearly not working very well".

Here's what political figures have said after sex offender Hadush Kebatu was mistakenly released from HMP Chelmsford:

• UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has called the blunder "totally unacceptable"
• Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy says he is "appalled" and "livid on behalf of the public"
• Lib Dem Leader of Chelmsford City Council Stephen Robinson calls the blunder "outrageous"
• Councillor Chris Whitbread, who leads Epping Forest District, says he is "at a loss to understand how such a grave error could occur"
• Neil Hudson, the Conservative MP for Epping Forest, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that people in his constituency are now "deeply distressed"

Lewis Adams
Reporting from Chelmsford

Image source, PA Media

The accidental release of the sex offender was a "mind-blowing" blunder, says the MP for Chelmsford.

The Liberal Democrat MP Marie Goldman says: "My mind has blown. How this could possibly happen?"

The same feeling is shared by Stephen Robinson, the Liberal Democrat leader of Chelmsford City Council.

"This is outrageous," he tells BBC Breakfast.

"Chelmsford prison is used to handling people who are coming and going because it's mainly a remand centre, and so they should be used to dealing with this."

Lewis Adams
Reporting from Chelmsford

Image source, Lewis Adams/BBC

Scores of journalists, including from the BBC, have been in Chelmsford's city centre trying to find out exactly how Hadush Kebatu came to be there yesterday.

Some people on the High Street told me they found it bizarre to see a video of the asylum seeker – whose face was a mainstay on the news for weeks – wandering around.

Kerry Smith, who manages a High Street shop, says it is "scary" to think how close she came to the sex offender.

"We trust the system, so it's quite a shock this person has the ability to walk among us with us not even realising," she says.

Another couple shopping in the city add: "He certainly wasn't hiding. He was holding a bag of belongings and not exactly wearing arrows on his top."

Her partner says: "Clearly someone has made a terrible mistake and I'm sure they're not feeling too good about it today."

Sima Kotecha
Senior UK correspondent

We know a prison officer from HMP Chelmsford has been suspended over this error - but sources tell me this cannot have been down to one person alone.

Several people are involved when an offender is released from custody.

A senior prison staffer says: "This is down to a series of mistakes probably because staff are overworked and in short supply. It’s not just one prison officer who’s to blame. That would be unfair”.

What we know

• Kebatu was mistakenly released from HMP Chelmsford on Friday - weeks after being jailed for sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl and a woman in Epping, Essex
• After boarding a London-bound train from Chelmsford, Kebatu eventually got off a service that stopped at Stratford at about 13:10
• Now in charge of the manhunt, Met Police Commander James Conway says finding Kebatu is a "top priority"

What we don't know

• Where Kebatu currently is - though the Met says searches of the London area is its "focus"
• How Kebatu came to be mistakenly released

Thomas Mackintosh
Live reporter

The search for Kebatu began at 12:57 on Friday after Essex Police were informed by the Prison Service that there had been "an error".

By the time the search started, the Greater Anglia London-bound train that Kebatu boarded left Chelmsford at 12:41 and then called at Shenfield, according to trainline data.

The service then stopped at Stratford at around 13:10 where the Met Police say Kebatu got off.

Stratford is the UK's fifth busiest train station, external, with interchanges to the London Underground, London Overground and Dockland's Light Railway (DLR).

Daniel Sandford
UK correspondent

Met officers have been supporting the Essex Police-led operation to locate Kebatu since it was confirmed that he boarded a London-bound train from Chelmsford Station at 12:41hrs on Friday.

Extensive enquiries have been carried out in the hours since and based on those enquiries, there is a high degree of confidence that Kebatu is likely still in the London area.

As a result, responsibility for the manhunt was transferred from Essex Police to the Met shortly after 11:30hrs today.

Here's the full statement from Commander James Conway:

"Finding Hadush Kebatu is a top priority.

"The manhunt is being led by an experienced Senior Investigating Officer. He has teams from the Specialist Crime Command with expertise in tracking down wanted people at his disposal, as well as other resources from across the Met.

"We've confirmed that Kebatu got off the London-bound train at Stratford station.

"We are examining CCTV from that area and further afield, including on the transport network, to establish information about his subsequent movements.

"We will provide further updates when we can, but I hope the press and the public will understand why it would be unhelpful to the effectiveness of the manhunt if we were to provide a detailed running commentary.

"Anyone who sees Kebatu, or has information about his whereabouts, should call 999 immediately."

Image source, PA Media

Ethiopian national Hadush Kebatu arrived in the UK on a small boat, and was jailed for 12 months over an attack in Epping, Essex, last month.

In September, Chelmsford Magistrates' Court heard Kebatu tried to kiss a 14-year-old girl on a bench and made numerous sexually explicit comments on 7 July.

The following day, he encountered the same girl and tried to kiss her before sexually assaulting her. He also sexually assaulted a woman who had offered to help him create a CV to find work.

Kebatu's arrest had sparked protests outside The Bell Hotel in Epping, where he had been living.

In September, after being found guilty of five offences, he was sentenced to 12 months and given a five-year sexual harm prevention order, which banned him from approaching or contacting any female.

After his sentencing, prison sources said Kebatu was meant to be sent to an immigration detention centre from HMP Chelmsford ahead of a planned deportation, but he was accidentally released from prison on Friday.

The Met Police says it has taken over the manhunt of Hadush Kebatu, a jailed Epping hotel asylum seeker who was mistakenly released from custody on Friday.

Essex Police inquiries show that Kebatu boarded a London-bound train from Chelmsford.

The Met says there is a high degree of confidence that Kebatu is likely still in the London area.

As a result, the force has now taken over the search, and says finding Kebatu is a “top priority”.

We’ll bring you more on this developing story as we get it, stay with us.