Summary

  • Migrant sex offender Hadush Kebatu will be deported "this week", says Justice Secretary David Lammy

  • Lammy confirms a member of staff at HMP Chelmsford has been suspended as he says the government has to "get to the bottom of how this happened"

  • Kebatu was mistakenly released on Friday - he was serving a 12-month sentence for sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl and a woman in Epping, Essex

  • Prison service has introduced new procedures for releases, but senior staff tell me this is just adding more to their workload, writes the BBC's senior UK correspondent

Watch: Moment Hadush Kebatu is arrested in London park

Live Reporting

Edited by Rorey Bosotti and Tinshui Yeung

  1. Who is Hadush Kebatu?

    Mugshot of Hadush KebatuPA 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.

  2. Met Police take over manhunt for Epping sex offender
    Breaking

    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.