A migrant who was accidentally released from prison has been re-arrested in north London following an intense two-day manhunt, the Metropolitan Police confirmed.
Hadush Kebatu was taken into custody in the Finsbury Park area at around 08:30 GMT on Sunday, two days after being mistakenly freed from HMP Chelmsford.
Kebatu had been sentenced last month for sexually assaulting a 14 year old girl and a woman in Epping while living in a hotel. He was scheduled for deportation before prison staff mistakenly let him go.
Justice Secretary David Lammy said Kebatu would be deported “this week.”
Speaking from Wood Green police station in north London, Lammy who also serves as deputy prime minister, announced that he would outline the scope of an independent inquiry into the incident in Parliament on Monday.
Earlier, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer confirmed that an investigation was underway, stressing, “We must ensure this never happens again.”
According to the Met Police, Kebatu was arrested on suspicion of being unlawfully at large and was transferred to a London prison.
An eyewitness, Jack Neill-Hall, 40, said he was walking his dog in Finsbury Park when he spotted Kebatu being escorted by police officers.
“I’d seen reports saying he was last spotted in Hackney, and when I saw him, I thought, ‘That really looks like that guy.’ He wasn’t wearing the same clothes but looked very similar,” Neill-Hall told the PA news agency.
“He wasn’t resisting, just walking calmly with his head down and hood up. It looked like a relaxed situation, almost like a quiet stroll out of the park in handcuffs,” he added.
