General · 24 October 2025
Major Police Manhunt Launched After Ethiopian Asylum Seeker Accidentally Released From Prison
Police are searching for Ethiopian asylum seeker Hadush Kebatu, who was mistakenly freed from HMP Chelmsford instead of being transferred to an immigration detention centre. Kebatu, in his early 40s, was serving a 12-month sentence for sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl and a woman in Epping — offences that triggered protests outside a local asylum hotel. Justice Secretary David Lammy has ordered an urgent investigation, and a prison officer has been suspended pending inquiry.
Reported by ITV · How we write briefs