Posted on 10/29/2025 8:19:14 AM PDT by RandFan
A migrant sex offender mistakenly released from prison was given a £500 payment after threatening to disrupt his deportation from the UK to Ethiopia.
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 freed by prison staff on Friday. He was re-arrested after two days.
The Ethiopian was put on a flight on Tuesday night and landed the following morning, the Home Office said.
The payment was made by the removal team as an alternative to a slower and more expensive process, Sir Keir Starmer's spokesman said.
He said Kebatu was "forcibly deported" and accompanied by five escorts on the flight.
Paid removals are normal under the Facilitated Returns Scheme, with foreign nationals who agree to leave the UK being given £1,500.
"Forcible" returns do not usually involve payments, but removal teams can decide to make a discretionary payment to ensure things go smoothly.
In this case, the concern was that it would cost much more to re-book the flights - running into several thousands of pounds - and it might have led to expensive legal action.
Sources say the decision to make the payment to Kebatu was made by the removal team, not ministers.
The payment avoided a "slower, more expensive process for the taxpayer, which would have included detention, a new flight and potentially fighting subsequent legal claims," the prime minister's spokesman said.
Kebatu arrived in Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa early on Wednesday and was briefly held by officers at the airport before being released, Ethiopian police told the BBC.
There was "no legal basis for his continued detention", Ethiopian Federal Police spokesman Jaylan Abde said.
The Conservatives said the payment was an "absolute disgrace"...
(Excerpt) Read more at bbc.co.uk ...
The stupid is really strong in the UK government.
Their common people should all be given guns, weapons and ammo to deal with it because one cannot fix “stupid”, and apparently they can’t vote it out either.
They’re gonna have to shoot their way out IF they wanna survive as a soverign nation...
I'm betting those prison staff were Muslims.
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