The re-arrest of Hadush Kebatu, a convicted sex offender and Ethiopian national, on the morning of October 26, 2025, has triggered a wave of public relief and political scrutiny across England. Kebatu’s mistaken release from HMP Chelmsford just days earlier—when he should have been transferred to an immigration detention center for deportation—has exposed deep flaws in the country’s prison system and prompted urgent calls for reform.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting was quick to acknowledge the role of the public in Kebatu’s recapture. “We finally managed to track him down, he’s been arrested and I want to say an enormous thank you to the public whose vigilance enabled this arrest this morning,” Streeting told reporters, according to BBC News. He confirmed Kebatu is now detained and will be deported, but emphasized, “It beggars belief that Kebatu was ever released onto the streets when he should have been deported.” Streeting also promised a thorough investigation: “We will also investigate the circumstances of his release, make sure that we get to the bottom of how on earth this could have happened and make sure that there is accountability and transparency to the public who are rightly concerned about how this could have ever happened in the first place.”
The saga began on October 24, 2025, when Kebatu, who had been sentenced to 12 months in custody for sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl and a woman in Epping, Essex, was mistakenly released from HMP Chelmsford. He had been awaiting transfer to an immigration detention center, but an administrative error allowed him to walk free. CCTV footage later showed Kebatu in a library in Dalston Square, east London, wearing a prison-issue grey tracksuit and carrying a white bag with pictures of avocados. He was last seen in the Dalston area of Hackney shortly before 8 p.m. that Friday, as the Metropolitan Police ramped up their search efforts.
Prison sources told BBC News that staff had escorted Kebatu toward the train station after his release. He reportedly tried to return to the prison but was turned away—a detail that adds a surreal twist to the unfolding drama. Police confirmed that Kebatu made several train journeys across London, including boarding a train at Chelmsford and disembarking at Stratford, east London, just minutes before Essex Police were notified of the error. Kebatu, who speaks limited English, was filmed speaking to members of the public and seeking assistance, but it remains unclear if he was even aware of the massive search underway for him.
Commander James Conway of the Metropolitan Police made a direct appeal to Kebatu, urging him to turn himself in: “You had already indicated a desire to return to Ethiopia when speaking to immigration staff. The best outcome for you is to make contact directly with us by either calling 999 or reporting yourself to a police station.” According to BBC News, Kebatu had access to funds, including cash returned to him with his property and the £76 payment prisoners receive upon release, which may have helped him evade capture for nearly two days.
The incident has cast a harsh spotlight on the functioning of England’s prison and immigration systems. Justice Secretary David Lammy has ordered an independent investigation into the circumstances surrounding Kebatu’s release. In response, HM Prison Service has instructed all prison governors in England and Wales to implement additional checks before releasing inmates, with new procedures set to take effect by Monday, October 27, 2025. One officer has already been suspended pending investigation, and a senior prison staffer told BBC News, “It’s not just one prison officer who’s to blame. That would be unfair.” They cited staff shortages and overwork as key factors contributing to the mistake, echoing a wider sense of strain within the system.
The statistics are sobering. A recent report from His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service revealed that 262 prisoners were released in error in England and Wales between April 2024 and March 2025—more than double the 115 in the previous year. Former Conservative Justice Secretary Alex Chalk, speaking on BBC Breakfast, called for a comprehensive inquiry: “The entire annual budget of the Ministry of Justice is spent by the Department for Work and Pensions in two weeks. My constant plea is to try to ensure the prison service gets the resources it requires to ensure we are recruiting and retaining people with skills and experience to make sure these problems don’t happen.”
The episode has also become a flashpoint in the ongoing debate over immigration and public safety. Kebatu’s arrest in July 2025 had already sparked protests outside The Bell Hotel in Epping, where he had been living after arriving in the UK on a small boat. During his trial, Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court heard that Kebatu tried to kiss a teenage girl and made sexually explicit comments, before sexually assaulting her and a woman who had tried to help him with a job application. Kebatu, who gave his age as 38 but may be as old as 41, denied the charges but was found guilty of five offences in September. He was given a five-year sexual harm prevention order, banned from contacting any female, and ordered to sign the Sex Offenders Register for ten years. The court also heard that it was Kebatu’s “firm wish” to be deported—a wish that, ironically, was delayed by the very system meant to enforce it.
Political leaders from across the spectrum have weighed in. Writing in the Mail on Sunday, Reform UK leader Nigel Farage declared that the incident showed the UK’s “once-trusted institutions, including the police and prisons, were disintegrating before our eyes.” He added pointedly, “Nobody who arrives by small boat should be free to walk our streets.” Such remarks have fueled a renewed debate about the government’s handling of small boat arrivals and the adequacy of public safety measures.
Meanwhile, the human consequences of systemic failures are all too real. For the victims of Kebatu’s crimes and the communities affected by his release, the episode has been a source of distress and outrage. For frontline prison and police staff, it is a stark reminder of the pressures and pitfalls that come with chronic under-resourcing. And for policymakers, it is a call to action that can no longer be ignored.
As the dust settles on Kebatu’s dramatic re-arrest, the government faces mounting pressure to deliver on its promises of transparency, accountability, and meaningful reform. The public—and the victims—will be watching closely to see if lessons are truly learned, or if this latest scandal will simply become another statistic in a system already stretched to its limits.
