Epping Asylum seeker arrested after being mistakenly released from prison

An asylum seeker who had been mistakenly released prison has been arrested following a three-day manhunt, the Metropolitan Police have said.

Ethiopian national Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu, 38, was jailed for 12 months in September. He was meant to be sent to an immigration detention centre to be deported, but was freed at HMP Chelmsford on Friday by mistake.

He was arrested by police officers in the Finsbury Park area of London at around 8.30am on Sunday morning.

Commander James Conway, who has overseen the operation, said information from the public led to his arrest.

“This has been a diligent and fast-paced investigation led by specialist officers from the Metropolitan police, supported by Essex Police and the British Transport police,” he said.

“Information from the public led officers to Finsbury Park and, following a search, they located Mr Kebatu. He was detained by police, but will be returned to the custody of the prison service.

“I am extremely grateful to the public for their support following our appeal, which assisted in locating Mr Kebatu.”

CCTV released on Saturday by the Metropolitan Police showed Kebatu at a library in Dalston Square, Hackney, East London.

Late Saturday night, the Metropolitan Police issued CCTV of Kebatu in a library in Hackney, East London taken at 6pm on Friday. In the images, Kebatu is carrying his belongings in a “distinctive white bag with pictures of avocados on it”, and still wearing his prison-issue grey tracksuit top and bottoms.

The last sighting of Kebatu occurred two hours later, at 8pm on Friday, in the same area.

Police said that he had taken a train from Chelmsford to Stratford, London, arriving at 1.12pm on Friday and then had taken “a number of journeys” across London and had “access to funds”.

It is understood that Kebatu, who had crossed the Channel in a small boat to enter the UK on June 29, left prison with a small amount of personal money, but was not given a discharge grant to cover subsistence costs.

Images shared on social media on Friday showed Kebatu at in Chelmsford. ITV News has been unable to independently verify the footage. / Credit:

A prison officer has been taken off duty to discharge prisoners while an investigation is underway.

Justice Secretary David Lammy said on Friday that he was “livid on behalf of the public” about the mishap and urged anyone with information on his whereabouts to call 999. He added that he had launched an investigation into the error.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer called the error “unacceptable”.

Starmer said: “The mistaken release at HMP Chelmsford is totally unacceptable. I am appalled that it has happened, and it’s being investigated.”

According to government statistics released in July, the number of prisoners released in error more than doubled in the year to March 2025.

The report by His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) said 262 prisoners were released in error from April 2024 to March 2025, up from 115 in the year to March 2024, meaning a 128% increase over the space of 12 months.

Arrest footage of Hadush Kebatu in July. He was jailed last month. / Credit: PA

Reports of Kebatu’s crimes triggered months of anti-immigration protests and counter-protests, which began at the Bell Hotel in Epping, where he had been living, eventually spreading to other areas of the country.

Kebatu, who arrived in the UK on a small boat days before the incidents, told two teenagers he wanted to “have a baby with each of them” and attempted to kiss them, before going on to put his hand on one of the girls’ thighs and stroke her hair, his trial was told.

Kebatu was found guilty of five offences after a three-day trial at Chelmsford and Colchester magistrates’ court in September. The court heard at his sentencing hearing that it was his “firm wish” to be deported.