A migrant sex offender who was mistakenly released from prison was given a £500 payment after threatening to disrupt his deportation from the UK to Ethiopia, the BBC understands.
Hadush Kebatu was jailed after sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl and a woman while living in an asylum hotel in Epping, Essex, but was mistakenly set free by prison staff on Friday and was brought back into custody following a two-day manhunt.
It is understood the payment was a decision made by the removal team, not ministers, and was considered as an alternative to a more expensive process.
Kebatu was not on the government’s Facilitated Returns Scheme – for foreign national offenders who agree to leave the UK voluntarily – under which he would have been given £1,500.
Sources said the £500 payment avoided "a slower and more expensive process, which would have included detention, a new flight and potentially fighting subsequent legal claims".
Subscribe here: http://bit.ly/1rbfUog
For more news, analysis and features visit: www.bbc.com/news
#BBCNews
Following the downfall of the so-called Islamic State in Syria, Kurdish-run prisons hold about 8,000 suspected IS fighters and around…
BERGAMO (ITALPRESS) – Una piattaforma tecnologica e digitale al servizio dell’ospitalità e dell’accommodation, una catena alberghiera radicata nei territori a…
PECHINO (CINA) (XINHUA/ITALPRESS) – L’industria culturale cinese ha mantenuto una crescita stabile nel 2025, dimostrando forte resilienza e vitalità, secondo…
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky says the next stage of peace talks with Russia and the US this weekend could be…