Why Was The Migrant Sex Offender Hadush Kebatu Given £500 To Leave The UK?

Hadush Kebatu was accidentally released from HMP Chelmsford on Friday and re-captured on SundayMigrant sex offender Hadush Kebatu was paid £500 to be get on the flight to leave the UK overnight.This revelation caused outrage but the government has justified the move, saying it would have cost much more if they had cancelled the flight altogether.Here’s what you need to know.Who is Kebatu?Kebatu came to the UK on a small boat on June 29 in a bid to seek asylum, and was housed in Epping.Nine days later, he was accused and later convicted of sexually assaulting a woman and a 14-year-old girl. He was sentenced to 12 months behind bars in September.Why is his case under particular scrutiny?Kebatu’s sexual assaults triggered anti-migrant protests outside an asylum hotel in Epping, Essex, and stoked wider anti-asylum sentiment across the country.Som tensions resurfaced when Kebatu was accidentally released last Friday when he was meant to be transferred to an immigration detention centre.He was re-captured by police on Sunday, but the 48-hour manhunt raised serious questions about the government’s ability to cope with the number of asylum seekers in the UK and with the justice system.Home secretary Shabana Mahmood also promoted the news of his return on Wednesday morning, insisting she had “pulled every lever” to remove Kebatu.Why was he paid £500 to leave?According to the government, this was a discretionary payment after he threatened to disrupt his own removal – and the decision was not made by ministers but by removal teams.A team of five officers also accompanied him on the flight to Ethiopia.Officials decided to pay Kebatu because the alternative was a slower and more expensive process, according to the Home Office.Kebatu would have been held in detention, a new flight would have been arranged and there may have been subsequent legal challenges.Just cancelling the flights would have cost several thousands of pounds, according to the government.Kebatu was also not on the facilitated returns scheme, the government has pointed out, which is a voluntary programme set up in 2006 meant to make the early removal of foreign national offenders easier with a grant of up to £1,500.These have been used by successive governments have also decided that voluntary returns would be a much more cost-effective alternative for taxpayers rather than paying for the accommodation or prison space.Downing Street said he tried to apply for that scheme but his attempt was denied.“However, given Kebatu threatened to disrupt the flight, an operational decision was taken to facilitate his return,” the prime minister’s spokesperson said.Why has this caused significant backlash?The whole incident epitomizes Labour’s ongoing struggles to control immigration – and the narrative around their own government.“Forcible” returns do not typical involve a lump sum, although removal teams can use them on occasion.But the revelation gave the government’s key critics a chance to drive the knife in over their inability to clamp down on immigration.Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said it was an “outrageous waste of taxpayers’ money”.She said: “Today Keir Starmer wouldn’t rule out raising taxes on hardworking people, while earlier his government handed £500 of your money to a vile foreign sex attacker.“Hadush Kebatu should have been deported immediately, not released and sent home with pocket money.”Footage shows sex offender Hadush Kebatu on a flight back to Ethiopia.Kebatu was found guilty of sexually assaulting a school girl and a woman in Epping. He was arrested by the Met Police following a manhunt after he was mistakenly released from prison.https://t.co/YQp6A19IKYpic.twitter.com/uK90X0J2rq— Sky News (@SkyNews) October 29, 2025Related...Keir Starmer's Asylum Seeker Woes Just Keep Getting WorseLabour's New Plan For Asylum Accommodation Is Exactly Like The One They Spurned Just Months AgoLabour Condemned As A 'Moral Void' As Starmer Vows To Remove Asylum 'Golden Ticket'

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