Justice Secretary David Lammy has said it “appears to have been human error” that led to asylum seeker sex offender Hadush Kebatu being wrongly freed from prison.
The Ethiopian national was jailed for 12 months in September for the sexual assault of a 14-year-old girl. He was mistakenly released from HMP Chelmsford on Friday morning instead of being sent to an immigration detention centre.
In a statement to the Commons, Lammy announced an independent investigation into the prison service, as well as additional measures to ensure a more robust process for release.
Lammy said these checks include more direct senior accountability for ensuring protocols are applied, "including a clear checklist for governors to determine that every step has been followed the evening before any release takes place".
Meanwhile, the Home Office has wasted billions of pounds on asylum hotels in a "failed, chaotic and expensive" system through a "series of failures", a committee of MPs has warned.
A cross-party report published on Monday said the Home Office failed to share a long-term strategy for asylum seeker accommodation and repeatedly cut corners in its “chaotic” response to the pressures.
The government promised to end the housing of asylum seekers in hotels by 2029, but the Home Affairs Committee warned that appealing to popular opinion without a clear plan for alternative accommodation risks “under-delivery” and could further "undermine public trust".
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