An asylum seeker who sexually assaulted a 14-year-old girl is "at large" in London after being accidentally released from prison.
Ethiopian national Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu, 38, was jailed for 12 months in September. Reports of his crimes triggered months of anti-asylum seeker protests in Epping and other areas across the country.
He was meant to be sent to an immigration detention centre to be deported, but was freed at HMP Chelmsford on Friday by mistake.
Justice Secretary David Lammy said he was "livid" about the mishap and urged anyone with information on his whereabouts to call 999.
He said: "I’m livid on behalf of the public that this individual who committed a sexual assault on a young minor and a woman is at large tonight."
A statement from Essex Police said that it had officers “working to urgently locate and detain him” after he was seen to catch a train at Chelmsford railway station.
The force said "fast-paced enquiries have shown that the man boarded a London-bound train at Chelmsford at 12.41pm on Friday".
A prison officer has been taken off duty to discharge prisoners while an investigation is underway.
Kebatu, who arrived in the UK on a small boat days before the incidents, told two teenagers he wanted to “have a baby with each of them” and attempted to kiss them, before going on to put his hand on one of the girls’ thighs and stroke her hair, his trial was told.
Sentencing Kebatu last month, a judge told him his behaviour “really highlights the poor regard you must have for women”.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer called the error "unacceptable".
Starmer said: "The mistaken release at HMP Chelmsford is totally unacceptable. I am appalled that it has happened, and it’s being investigated."
