Moment migrant sex offender is arrested in London 3 days after mistaken prison release

The migrant sex offender who was mistakenly released from prison has been detained in London, as pictures capture the moment he was arrested. Hadush Kebatu was arrested by Met Police officers in the Finsbury Park area of London at around 8.30am today, November 26.

Police said information from the public led to his arrest after a "diligent" investigation. The Epping hotel asylum seeker, whose sexual assault on a schoolgirl sparked a wave of protests across the UK, was mistakenly released from prison on Friday, triggering a nationwide manhunt. The 41-year-old from Ethiopia was meant to be sent to an immigration detention centre to be deported, but was mistakenly freed due to "human error".

Wearing a prison-issue grey tracksuit, he then made several train journeys across London. Police confirmed he was seen departing Chelmsford railway station at 12.41pm on Friday, and arriving in Stratford, east London, at about 1.10pm.

A senior justice source said: "He has been released in error - this is the mother of all f*** ups. It is down to human error, with the wrong paperwork on it or something," reports The Sun.

It is believed that a prison service officer was removed from duties after the convicted sex offender was released.

Met police commander James Conway said: "This has been a diligent and fast-paced investigation led by specialist officers from the Metropolitan Police, supported by Essex Police and the British Transport Police.

"Information from the public led officers to Finsbury Park, and following a search, they located Mr Kebatu. He was detained by police, but will be returned to the custody of the prison service.

"I am extremely grateful to the public for their support following our appeal, which assisted in locating Mr Kebatu."

Wes Streeting told the BBC that Kebatu "will now be deported" and that Justice Secretary David Lammy has ordered an investigation into "how on Earth" a "dangerous man who was due for deportation was instead released onto our streets".

Liberal Democrat MP for Chelmsford, Marie Goldman, called for his deportation following the re-arrest. Despite saying she was relieved that he was found, it "doesn't excuse the serious mistakes that let this happen in the first place".

"It's unacceptable that the safety of my constituents, and the people of London, was ever put at risk," she added.

Kebatu had only been in prison for a few weeks, having been sentenced on September 23 to 12 months in prison. He was placed on the UK sex offenders' register for ten years.

At trial, where he denied all offences, the court heard that he tried to kiss a teenage girl on a bench and made numerous sexually explicit comments on July 7.

The following afternoon, Essex Police said he tried to kiss the same girl before sexually assaulting her, and made sexually explicit comments despite being told the girl's age and the fact that she was wearing her school uniform.

The court heard he made comments such as "you would be a good wife" and "we will have babies".

His arrest led to a wave of demonstrations outside The Bell Hotel in Epping, where he was staying as an asylum seeker after arriving in the UK in a small boat.

This triggered nationwide protests outside of hotels housing asylum seekers, with anti-migration and counter-protestors clashing in cities across the UK.