'I'm livid': David Lammy launches urgent investigation after Epping Hotel migrant freed from prison in error
The Justice Secretary and Deputy Prime Minister vowed to keep the public safe after the sex offender was mistakenly freed
“I’m livid on behalf of the public,” David Lammy has said as he urged the Epping Hotel migrant accidentally freed from prison and now “at large in London” to turn himself in.
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Hadush Kebatu, 38, is on the run in the capital after his mistaken release from HMP Chelmsford - just one month after being found guilty of five charges, including sexually assaulting a woman and a teenage girl in Epping while staying at the Bell Hotel just days after arriving in the UK on a small boat.
Speaking following the blunder, the Justice Secretary and Deputy Prime Minister told broadcasters: “I’m livid. I’m livid on behalf of the public that this individual who committed a sexual assault on a young minor and a woman is at large tonight.”
He added: “I spoke to the Home Secretary today. I have launched an investigation into what has happened in the prison service to allow this to come about.
“But the important thing is that we protect the public. The important thing is that the police are able to do their work and find this individual.
“And the important thing is, if anyone is watching and knows where he is, that they call 999, and indeed that he gives himself up and returns to the custody that he should be in.”
On Friday evening, he revealed Kebatu is "at large in London" after boarding a train bound for the capital in Chelmsford at 12.41pm.
Earlier, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said he was “appalled” at the accidental release of the sef offender.
He 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.”
Chelmsford’s MP said she was “struggling” not to call for HMP Chelmsford’s governor to resign after the huge mistake.
“I really want to understand what went wrong, and it’s not always the things that people think go wrong.
“So, it’s really tempting to call for the governor to resign, because that’s the quickest thing to call for, and I’m really struggling not to do that, I have to say.
“But I do really want to understand what went wrong,” she said.
Kebatu's crimes sparked nationwide anti-immigration protests this summer.
Kebatu, who was being held at HMP Chelmsford, was meant to be sent to an immigration detention centre to be deported, but was mistakenly freed instead, the Department of Justice said on Friday.
Videos have emerged online showing a man, who appears to be the sex offender, wearing a grey prison tracksuit and asking people for directions.
A statement from Essex Police said that it had officers “working to urgently locate and detain him” after he was seen to catch a train at Chelmsford railway station.
It said: “We were informed by the prison service at 12.57pm today (Friday 24 October) 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.”