Hadush Kebatu, a sex offender mistakenly released from prison, was deported to Ethiopia with a £500 payment following a threat to disrupt his removal. The deportation occurred on Tuesday night, and he arrived in Ethiopia on Wednesday without the right to return to the UK. The payment was reportedly a decision by the removal team and not ministers.
The alternative to the payment would have involved a lengthier and more costly process of detaining Kebatu further and arranging a new flight, which could have led to legal complications. Canceling the initial flight would have incurred significant expenses. Kebatu, 38, had been serving a 12-month jail sentence for sexual offenses against a 14-year-old girl and a woman in Essex.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood expressed satisfaction with Kebatu’s deportation, stating that every effort was made to ensure it happened. Kebatu, an Ethiopian national, triggered a manhunt in the southeast after fleeing to London from the Bell Hotel in Epping, Essex, where he committed the crimes.
After being apprehended in Finsbury Park on Sunday morning, Kebatu was escorted by plain-clothed police officers to a police van. He was found wearing a black jacket and jeans with a hood over his head. Kebatu, who entered the UK by crossing the Channel in a small boat on June 29, left prison with personal funds but no discharge grant for living expenses.
Witnesses reported Kebatu attempting to return to HMP Chelmsford multiple times in a confused state, only to be refused entry by prison staff and redirected to the train station. An investigation is ongoing, and a prison officer has been relieved of duties related to prisoner releases.