Prison staff at HMP Chelmsford pointed an illegal migrant sex offender towards the railway station after mistakenly releasing him, a witness has revealed, as a major manhunt continues across London for the deportation-bound Ethiopian national.
Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu, 38, who sexually assaulted a 14-year-old girl just days after arriving in Britain on a small boat, was freed in error on Friday morning instead of being transferred to an immigration removal centre ahead of his planned deportation.
A local delivery driver named Sim, who was working at the prison when the catastrophic blunder unfolded, told Sky News that Kebatu appeared “confused” and stood outside HMP Chelmsford for approximately an hour and a half before prison staff directed him to Chelmsford Railway Station.
“He came out of the airlock and kept saying to the officers there, ‘Where am I going? What am I doing? I don’t know where I’m going and what I’m doing,'” Sim recounted. “He was holding a pack of paperwork in his arms and his bag of bits.”
The witness described how Kebatu approached him for help, stating: “He knew he’d been deported. He came over to me and said, ‘I need you to help me.'”
After repeated attempts to seek clarification from prison reception staff, Kebatu became increasingly distressed. “The fourth or fifth time he went into the reception, he was starting to get upset, he was getting stressed,” Sim explained. “I’m not sticking up for the guy, but in my eyes, he was trying to do the right thing. He knew he was getting deported, but he didn’t know where he was going or how he should get there.”
Eventually, a member of prison staff directed the convicted sex offender to Chelmsford station to catch a train to London. “They were basically sending him away, saying, ‘Go, you’ve been released, you go,'” Sim stated.
Kebatu was subsequently spotted on Chelmsford High Street, captured in footage showing him speaking with individuals whilst holding a prison-issue bag. He boarded a London-bound train at Chelmsford station at 12.41pm on Friday afternoon.
The train stopped at Shenfield and Stratford before arriving at London Liverpool Street at 1.18pm, according to Trainline data. Kebatu was last seen disembarking at Stratford station in east London, one of Britain’s busiest transport hubs.
Essex Police were only notified of the release error by the Prison Service at 12.57pm, a full 16 minutes after Kebatu had already boarded his train towards the capital.
The Metropolitan Police assumed control of the manhunt on Saturday morning, with Commander James Conway declaring that finding Kebatu was a “top priority.” He confirmed the investigation was being led by an “experienced investigating officer” with teams from the Specialist Crime Command who possess expertise in tracking down wanted individuals.
“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,” Commander Conway stated.
Authorities have urged anyone who sees Kebatu or has information about his whereabouts to call 999 immediately. Notably, police have not released any description of what the offender is wearing or his physical appearance.
Stratford station, the fifth busiest in the UK according to the Office of Rail and Road, provides links to the London Underground, Elizabeth Line, London Overground and Docklands Light Railway, offering the fugitive multiple escape routes across the capital and beyond.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer condemned the release as “totally unacceptable,” stating: “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.”
Deputy Prime Minister and Justice Secretary David Lammy said he was “livid on behalf of the public” that Kebatu was at large in London. He announced he had launched a full investigation into the error.
The Telegraph reported that Kebatu was wrongly categorised as a prisoner due to be released on licence and was handed a £76 discharge grant upon leaving custody.
Kebatu, who arrived in the UK on a small boat in early July, was jailed for 12 months in September after being found guilty of five offences following a three-day trial at Chelmsford and Colchester magistrates’ courts.
The court heard how the Ethiopian national told two teenagers he wanted to “have a baby with each of them” and attempted to kiss them. He then placed his hand on one of the girls’ thighs and stroked her hair whilst she was wearing her school uniform.
Kebatu was also convicted of sexually assaulting a woman who intervened, attempting to kiss her, putting his hand on her leg and telling her she was pretty.
Sentencing Kebatu last month, District Judge Christopher Williams told the offender his behaviour “really highlights the poor regard you must have for women.” The judge described the attacks as a “disgusting and sickening” experience for the schoolgirl victim.
Judge Williams noted that whilst Kebatu could not have anticipated the scale of public reaction, his offending as an asylum seeker housed at the Bell Hotel in Epping had caused widespread demonstrations. “Particularly in Epping, but also across the UK, resulting in mass demonstrations and fear that children in the UK are not safe,” the judge stated.
The court heard at the sentencing hearing that it was Kebatu’s “firm wish” to be deported following completion of his prison term.
In court, Kebatu provided his date of birth through a translator as being in December 1986, making him 38 years old. However, Essex Police records state his date of birth as December 1983, making him 41 years old.
The Home Office had been ready to transfer Kebatu directly to an immigration removal centre before his planned deportation, only for the prison service to release him in error instead.
The father of Kebatu’s teenage victim told Sky News: “The justice system has let us down.
Chelmsford’s Liberal Democrat MP Marie Goldman demanded a rapid public inquiry into the release, telling journalists the problem was “far bigger than a member of staff being suspended.”
Goldman said she had been frustrated by a lack of communication from HMP Chelmsford’s governor, Mark Howard, stating she was “struggling” not to call for his resignation. “Any system that relies on one person to decide whether to release a prisoner or not, I think is a system that’s not fit for purpose,” she declared. “You couldn’t make it up, could you? I mean, it is incredible.”
Aaron Stow, president of the Criminal Justice Workers’ Union, described Kebatu’s mistaken release as “a profound failure of duty.” He stated: “The release of Hadush Kebatu is a betrayal of the victims, the community and the principles of justice. We demand a full investigation and immediate reforms to ensure this never happens again.”
Mike Rolfe, the union’s general secretary, added: “The justice system is stretched to breaking point, the public’s confidence is collapsing, and those tasked with enforcing the law are left to pick up the pieces of political cowardice.”
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp called the blunder “staggering incompetence” and demanded a public inquiry. He told Sky News: “We certainly need a public inquiry into how this dangerous illegal immigrant, who is also a child sex offender, got released. We also need an urgent apology from Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood and Justice Secretary David Lammy who have presided over this fiasco.”
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage reacted by declaring: “Britain is broken.
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch claimed the “entire system is collapsing under Labour.
Epping Forest’s Conservative MP Neil Hudson said on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “This sounds like an operational error, but the buck has to stop somewhere, and it has to stop at the top, at the Justice Secretary, the Home Secretary and the Prime Minister.
The blunder has exposed alarming failings within Britain’s prison system. 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 stated that 262 prisoners were released in error from April 2024 to March 2025, up from 115 in the year to March 2024, representing a 128 per cent increase and the highest figure in the time series.
Of the 262 releases in error, 233 occurred from prison establishments whilst 29 were released in error at courts.
A Prison Service spokesman stated: “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.”
Kebatu’s case had already sparked months of protests across Britain. His arrest in July prompted thousands to demonstrate outside the Bell Hotel in Epping, where he had been housed alongside other asylum seekers. Multiple protests targeting hotels housing migrants followed in other British cities and towns, with some demonstrations attended by far-right activists and spilling into disorder.
The incident has reignited fierce debate over Britain’s policy of housing asylum seekers in hotels whilst they await decisions on their status, a practice critics claim costs taxpayers millions of pounds whilst creating flashpoints in local communities.
Tensions have long simmered over unauthorised migration, particularly the tens of thousands of migrants crossing the English Channel in overloaded boats to reach the UK.
The case sits at the volatile intersection of immigration enforcement, public safety and prison management, three of the most politically charged issues in British public life. For many observers, the episode represents not merely an administrative embarrassment but a national reckoning with a government struggling to deliver on promises of swift deportations and firm justice.
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