Overview
- London police arrested Hadush Kebatu in Finsbury Park on Sunday morning after a member of the public reported his presence.
- The capture ended a two-day search launched when he was mistakenly released from custody instead of being transferred to immigration detention.
- CCTV had shown him boarding a train from Chelmsford toward London shortly after the release, leading police to focus the manhunt on the capital.
- Kebatu was recently convicted of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl and a woman in Epping, with reports citing a 12-month sentence followed by deportation.
- Prison officials called the release an error and suspended an on-duty staffer as an internal investigation proceeds, while new government figures show 262 erroneous releases in the past year, a 128% rise, drawing political condemnation from Keir Starmer, David Lammy and Nigel Farage.