The sex attack migrant who was mistakenly freed from prison changed his appearance while on the run for three days before being caught by police, it was revealed today.
Hadush Kebatu was arrested by four officers inside Finsbury Park, north London, at around 8.30am on Sunday, bringing a nationwide manhunt to an end after a humiliating blunder saw him let loose on the streets.
The 38-year-old Ethiopian was set free from HMP Chelmsford in error on Friday just four weeks after being sentenced for sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl and a woman in Epping, Essex, while being housed at an asylum seeker hotel.
Kebatu, whose offences sparked protests outside The Bell Hotel in Epping and around the country, was awaiting transfer to an immigration detention centre ahead of his planned deportation to Ethiopia, but bungling prison staff freed him instead.
After his release, the convicted sex offender is understood to have returned to prison but was repeatedly turned away by guards who instead directed him to Chelmsford train station.
Kebatu was filmed in Chelmsford town centre speaking to members of the public before boarding a 12.41pm train to Stratford, east London. He was wearing his prison-issue grey tracksuit and a clear bag filled with his belongings.
By Friday evening, Kebatu had made it to the Dalston area of Hackney, where he was spotted wearing the same prison tracksuit while clutching a white tote bag with avocados on it. He was seen walking up a staircase at a library in Dalston Square at around 6pm and was spotted again two hours later.
His movements on Saturday are unclear but the Met Police confirmed today that he was finally caught in Finsbury Park on Sunday morning, three days after being mistakenly freed. He will now be returned to prison and later deported.
In a picture of his arrest, Kebatu was seen wearing a dark puffer jacket with a black and grey hoodie, jeans and grey trainers. It is not clear when Kebatu changed his outfit but he was reportedly handed a £76 discharge grant when he was freed.
SUNDAY: This is the moment Hadush Kebatu (second from left) was arrested by Met Police officers in Finsbury Park, north London. He was seen wearing a dark puffer jacket with a black and grey hoodie, jeans and grey trainers
FRIDAY EVENING: Asylum seeker Kebatu was seen walking around a library in Dalston after travelling to London. He was clutching an avocado tote bag
FRIDAY MORNING: Video footage (above) appeared to capture Kebatu in Chelmsford town centre asking for directions from locals, while wearing his prison tracksuit
The Mail understands Kebatu was arrested a short distance inside Finsbury Park, close to the entrance opposite Finsbury Park Road, after a member of the public spotted him.
Police were then called to the scene and bundled into the back of a police van.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said today: ‘Hadush Kebatu has been arrested and will be deported. Officers have worked quickly and diligently to bring him back into custody. We have ordered an investigation to establish what went wrong. We must make sure this doesn’t happen again.’
His deputy, David Lammy, has ordered the ‘immediate strengthening of release checks and a full investigation into what went wrong’.
Confirmation of the arrest came shortly after Wes Streeting had begged for the public’s help in finding the wrongly released sex attacker.
Speaking on Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips, the health secretary said the government had been ‘turning over every stone’ to find Kebatu.
‘He [Kebatu] was last spotted in east London and so I would appeal to people watching to look at the images of this man to make sure that we’re all vigilant and if he’s sighted to dial 999 immediately.
‘We want him found, arrested and deported.’
He added: ‘This man was behind bars because of serious sex offences. He is not meant to be in this country. In fact, what what was supposed to be happening is he was meant to be transferred for deportation.
‘So, the idea that he’s loose on our streets is incredibly serious. It is a serious failure.’
The cabinet minister admitted that the mistaken release shows something has gone ‘spectacularly wrong’.
He added: ‘I feel as angry as people watching this morning. You cannot fathom how on earth this has happened. We don’t want to prejudge the investigation. We will get to the bottom of exactly what’s gone wrong.
‘Every single day, there are millions of people working across the public sector doing a great job. And when something like this goes spectacularly wrong, we need to work out how.’
It comes after it emerged that prison officers told Kebatu he had to make it to the removal centre on his own steam.
A delivery driver told Sky News: ‘I heard one of the officers saying, ‘This is how you get to the station, you go down here…’ [he] directed him to the station and said he had to get on a train to get to this place… This conversation was at the front of the prison.’
In what caused further disbelief last night, Kebatu spent more than 90 minutes hanging around outside the prison because he simply did not know ‘where to go or what to do’.
The driver, who was delivering equipment to the prison, said: ‘[The officers] were basically sending him away, saying, ‘Go, you’ve been released, you go’.’
Kebatu was arrested by Met officers in the Finsbury Park area of London at around 8.30am this morning
Footage shows Kebatu being bundled into the back of a police van after being arrested in Finsbury Park
As the hunt descended deeper into farce, Wes Streeting (pictured) had begged for the public’s help in finding the wrongly released sex attacker
The debacle has left Labour facing fresh questions about its handling of the migrant crisis.
It comes amid a backlash against efforts to tackle illegal migration after a man who was deported under the ‘one in, one out’ scheme with France reappeared on UK shores having crossed the Channel again in a small boat.
Tory MP for Epping Forest, Neil Hudson, called Kebatu’s release a ‘catastrophic mistake’ which had ‘deeply distressed, upset and angered’ the whole community, adding that ‘accountability must go right to the top’.
Even after being set free, Kebatu kept going ‘back and forth’ into the prison reception area seeking help and showing staff a wad of paperwork about his case, according to the driver.
‘I’m not sticking up for the guy but in my eyes he wanted to do the right thing and go to the right place,’ he said.
‘He knew he was getting deported but he didn’t know where to go or how he should get there. He kept scratching his head and saying, ‘Where do I go, where do I go?”
He added that the officers had no interest in helping him, saying, ‘You’re released, you’re released’.
Kebatu had been spotted walking through Chelmsford, Essex, after his accidental release from prison
Kebatu was jailed for a year last month after assaulting his 14-year-old victim. During his trial, Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court heard that he acted ‘ignorantly and repulsively’.
The migrant became aroused as he put his hand on the girl’s thighs and stroked her hair despite knowing ‘full well she was only 14’. He said he wanted to have a baby with her and invited her back to The Bell Hotel, where he was living.
Kebatu then tried to kiss a woman who attempted to intervene, before putting his hand on her leg and telling her she was pretty.
The asylum seeker gave his age as 38 during a court appearance but a judge said he had seen information indicating he was 41.
Met Police Commander James Conway urged Kebatu to give himself up, saying: ‘We want to locate you in a safe and controlled way. 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.’
He said the asylum seeker had taken ‘a number of journeys’ across London since his release on Friday and had ‘access to funds’.