Taxpayers Foot £152,738 Bill After Blunder Sees Sex Offender Wrongly Released from Prison

A three-day manhunt for a convicted sex offender who was mistakenly released from HMP Chelmsford has cost UK police forces a total of £152,738, according to new figures.

Hadush Kebatu, an Ethiopian national serving a 12-month sentence for sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl and another woman in Epping, Essex, was erroneously freed from the prison on 24th October 2025. Instead of being transferred to an immigration detention centre ahead of his planned deportation, prison staff released him by mistake.

Essex Police and the Metropolitan Police launched a joint operation to locate Kebatu after the error came to light. The search involved hundreds of officer and staff hours, with Essex Police incurring costs of £80,656 and the Met contributing £72,082 over the period.

Kebatu was arrested in the Finsbury Park area of north London on the morning of 26th October 2025 — almost three days after his wrongful release — following a public sighting. He was subsequently deported to Ethiopia on 28th October.

The incident has raised serious questions about prison release procedures and prompted an internal review by the Ministry of Justice, which is expected to conclude soon. Justice Secretary David Lammy has described the error as symptomatic of a “broken system” in parts of the Prison Service.

This is not the first reported mistaken release from HMP Chelmsford in recent times, with sources indicating at least one other inmate was freed in error shortly before Kebatu’s case.

The high cost of the manhunt has drawn criticism from politicians and campaigners concerned about public spending on avoidable policing operations. Details of the exact breakdown of costs include overtime, resource deployment across multiple forces, and coordination efforts during the search.

A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said lessons would be learned to prevent similar blunders, while emphasising that public safety remained the priority.

Kebatu had arrived in the UK by small boat and was housed in a hotel in Epping at the time of his offences earlier in 2025. His case gained additional attention amid broader debates on immigration, asylum processing, and prison management.

The full findings of the accidental release review are anticipated within the coming weeks.