Prisons begin extra checks after migrant released in error

Following the release of a migrant sex offenders in error last week, additional checks will be carried out in jails across England and Wales starting Monday. The government has ordered governors to implement new measures to prevent Hadush Kebatu's mistaken release from HMP Chelmsford on Friday, which resulted in a manhunt and his eventual detention in London on Sunday. Following updates on Parliament on an independent inquiry into how Kebatu was set free rather than deported, Justice Secretary David Lammy will face questions on Monday. Senior prison workers, who told BBC News, that the extra checks would increase workload and put more strain on a system that is already struggling to cope.

Kebatu's release has reignited concern about the state of HM Prison Service, which the government has described as

broken. The number of prisoners who have been released mistakenly has risen dramatically, with 262 of them convicted in April 2024 and March 2025, up from 115 over the same time a year ago. Charlie Taylor, the Chief Inspector of Prisons, told BBC Radio 4's Today show

something is going wrong

with the prison system, pointing to the increasing number of incorrect releases. When asked about the new checklist, prison staff would have to follow before releasing an inmate, Mr Taylor said it had not been shared in complete, so he could not say if it was proportionate. However, he said that inexperienced employees were being left with large caseloads of work as a result of the prison system's high

churn,

making the situation even more difficult by the introduction of several early release programs that have been rolling out in recent years. When asked why figures for unlawful discharges were on Sunday, Lammy said the Labour government

inherited a system that was collapsing [from the Conservatives]. Kebatu's dismissal had been catastrophic, according to Housing Secretary Steve Reed, and jail staff would have to perform the extra checks regardless of workload constraints.

When the justice secretary announces that they will carry out these checks to prevent accidental leaks, they will follow his orders,

he told GB News.

We will not accept this as a government or as if a nation

after finding convicted criminals set loose by accident. Absolutely unacceptable.

Kebatu was arrested at 08:30 on Sunday in north London's Finsbury Park neighborhood, bringing an end to a 48-hour manhunt. In July, a 14-year-old girl and a woman were arrested sexually assaulted in Epping, Essex, where he had been living in an asylum hotel since arriving in the United Kingdom on a small boat. Kebatu, the detention center behind protests, was supposed to be transferred to an immigration detention facility ahead of his planned removal when he was mistakenly told he could walk free by prison workers on Friday. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said on Sunday that an investigation was still underway to

make sure this doesn't happen again. A prison officer at HMP Chelmsford has been barred from active service, but a senior prison employee told BBC News that the dismissal was

down to a string of mistakes, most likely because workers are overworked and in short supply. According to Lammy, Kebatuis will be deported later this week.

The Prison Service was under a lot of pressure on Sunday, according to Health Secretary Wes Streeting, but

even against that backdrop, it doesn't explain or excuse the release of people on our streets who have no company being there. Alex Chalk, the former Conservative Justice Minister, said an investigation was required in order to

learn lessons,

and that the occurrence was symptomatic of larger prison system issues.

The entire annual budget of the Ministry of Justice is being spent by the Department of Work and Pensions in two weeks,he told BBC Breakfast on Sunday.My constant plea is to ensure that the prison service has the funding it needs to ensure we are recruiting and retaining people with skills and experience to ensure these issues do not arise. Kebatu must now be arrested, Marie Goldman, the Liberal Democrat MP for Chelmsford, said,