Met Police takes over manhunt for wrongly-released sex offender as fugitive 'likely in London'

On Saturday morning, Essex Police said the asylum seeker was last seen in London after he boarded a train from Essex to Stratford.

As a result, the manhunt was transferred from Essex Police to the Met shortly after 11.30am on Saturday.

Commander James Conway said the hunt for the fugitive is a "top priority".

He added: "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."

Mr Conway said officers are examining CCTV from Stratford and "further afield", including on transport networks to pinpoint Kebatu's whereabouts.

Read more: 'I will not be silenced': Woman who unfurled Union Flag during Epping migrant hotel protest speaks after charges dropped

Read more: Full timeline of Epping migrant’s troubled time in UK - From small boat arrival to arrest, to jail and wrongful release

He added: “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.”

Footage posted on social media showed Kebatu in his grey prison tracksuit walking down the high street and asking passersby for directions.

Shortly after it was filmed, Kebatu boarded a train to London from Chelmsford railway station where he is currently "at large" according to Justice Secretary David Lammy.

The 38-year-old committed the offences whilst staying at the Bell Hotel, just days after arriving in the UK on a small boat.

The assaults by the Ethiopian asylum seeker sparked a nationwide wave of anti-migration protests that went on throughout the summer.

Essex Police, the Metropolitan Police, and the British Transport Police all have "all hands on deck" to capture the Kebatu, according to Mr Lammy.

In an earlier statement on Saturday, the force said enquiries are "continuing at pace this morning".

"Officers worked throughout the night to track his movements, including scouring hours of CCTV footage, and this work continues today," Essex Police says.

"Our enquires show that he was last seen in the London area, and this is our focus.

"The force is encouraging anyone who sees him or knows where he is to call 999 immediately."

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.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said the mistaken release of the convicted sex offender is “totally unacceptable”.

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.”

The Greater Anglia train stopped at Shenfield and Stratford before arriving at London Liverpool Street at 13.18pm, according to Trainline data.

Before his sentence was delivered, Kebatu's defence barrister, Molly Dyas, said the defendant’s “firm wish is to be deported as soon as possible", as he has been suffering with his mental health.

District Judge Christopher Williams called Kebatu "manipulative" as he delivered his sentence, saying he "knew full well" his younger victim was only 14 years of age.

His victim, aged just 14, said she is "always checking over her shoulder" after the attack.

He committed the sex attack just a week after arriving in the UK.

A Prison Service spokesperson told LBC: "We are urgently working with police to return an offender to custody following a release in error at HMP Chelmsford.

“Public protection is our top priority and we have launched an investigation into this incident.”

Before sentencing, Judge Williams said Kebatu had tried to take his own life "on at least one occasion" while on remand in prison.

Taking to X, Mr Lammy said he is "appalled" by Kebatu's accidental release.

"We are urgently working with the police to track him down and I’ve ordered an urgent investigation.

"Kebatu must be deported for his crimes, not on our streets."

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said: “The Epping hotel migrant sex attacker has been accidentally freed rather than deported.

"He is now walking the streets of Essex.

"Britain is broken.”

Local MP Marie Goldman said in a statement: "I am closely following developments and am in contact with the police and the prison.

"The police must do everything they can to ensure that this man is returned to custody immediately so that he is deported at once.

"Once the manhunt is over, there must be a full, rapid public inquiry into how this happened. This is utterly unacceptable and has potentially put my constituents in danger. I expect answers from the Prison Service."

She added: "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 added that she had been “frustrated” that she had asked for a phone call with the governor, only to be told that the prison was “not updating individual stakeholders”.

She said: “I find that really frustrating, because I think, as the MP representing my constituents who want to know what’s happening, I think they would like to know that their MP is hearing first-hand from the prison service what happened.

“So, I’m frustrated I haven’t had that opportunity, or that’s been denied to me.”

Hitting out at the Labour government, Tory leader Kemi Badenoch declared the "entire system is broken."

A Prison Service officer has been removed from duties amid today's chaos, LBC understands.

Kebatu's attack sparked mass anti-immigration protests across the UK, many of which broke out into violence.

Dozens of anti-migrant protestors were arrested following attacks on police protecting the Bell Hotel.