UK deports asylum seeker sex offender after mistaken release

On Wednesday, the UK announced that it had deported an Ethiopian asylum seeker and convicted sex offender following his accidental release from prison, marking a significant embarrassment for a government already facing criticism regarding immigration issues.

According to the UK’s interior ministry, "Hadush Kebatu has returned to Ethiopia after being deported from the UK, with no right to re-enter," after he was re-arrested on Sunday following a nearly 48-hour-long police manhunt.

Kebatu, aged 38, had completed the first month of a one-year sentence for sexually assaulting a teenage girl and a woman. He was reportedly scheduled for deportation when the error by the Prison Service occurred on Friday.

Earlier this year, his high-profile case in Epping, located northeast of London, incited numerous demonstrations aimed at hotels believed to be housing asylum seekers, alongside counter-protests.

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood stated, "Last week’s blunder should never have occurred — and I share the public’s outrage that it did."

On Monday, Justice Minister David Lammy announced an independent investigation into the incident, disclosing that such erroneous releases have increased in recent years.

Kebatu was initially arrested in July while residing at the Bell Hotel in Epping, which has been the focus of several violent protests due to its accommodation of numerous other asylum seekers.

Additionally, the hotel is currently facing a legal challenge from the local council, which opposes its use for this purpose.

On Tuesday, the office of Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced that the government would begin exploring the use of former military sites to accommodate asylum seekers, rather than relying on hotels, in an effort to "alleviate the strain on communities".

Starmer expressed his desire to see the closure of asylum seeker hotels "as swiftly as possible," and his Labour government has pledged to eliminate the use of hotels for this purpose by the year 2029.

The Cameron Barracks located in northeastern Scotland and the Crowborough army camp in southeastern England have been designated to accommodate approximately 900 asylum seekers in total by the end of this year.

This shift in policy follows a parliamentary report which revealed that the Home Office, under various administrations, had "wasted billions" on a defective asylum housing system.

The practice of utilizing former military camps for asylum housing has been a source of controversy in the past.

The prior Conservative government faced legal action from asylum seekers who were housed in a former army camp, which the courts found did not meet the minimum standards.