David Lammy has confirmed there will be an independent investigation into the accidental release of a migrant jailed for sex offences, as he blamed “human error” for the incident.

The deputy prime minister and justice secretary told MPs he was “livid” on behalf of Hadush Kebatu’s victims and he would be deported back to Ethiopia “as quickly as possible”.

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Kebatu, who was found guilty in September of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl and a woman in Epping, was freed in error from HMP Chelmsford in Essex on Friday instead of being handed over to immigration officials for deportation.

His accidental release sparked widespread alarm and a manhunt that resulted in him being found and arrested by the Metropolitan Police in the Finsbury Park area of London at around 8.30am on Sunday.

The incident has sparked questions over how the man, whose crimes sparked protests in Epping over the use of asylum hotels, was able to be freed.

Addressing MPs in the House of Commons, Mr Lammy said the mistake should not have happened as he sought to lay part of the blame on to the Conservatives over the state of the prison system over the past 14 years.

He said “there must and there will be accountability” for the mistaken release of Kebatu from prison.

“I’ve been clear from the outset that a mistake of this nature is unacceptable,” he said.

“We must get to the bottom of what happened and take immediate action to try and prevent similar releases in error to protect the public from harm.”

Mr Lammy said he ordered an “urgent review” into the checks that take place when an offender is released from prison, and new safeguards have been added that amount to the “strongest release checks that have ever been in place”.

The justice secretary said the investigation would be led by former Metropolitan Police deputy commissioner Dame Lynne Owens, who also used to lead the National Crime Agency.

He also said the investigation would have the same status as high-profile probes into other prison incidents, including the attack on three prison officers at HMP Franklin in April of this year and the escape of Daniel Khalife from HMP Wandsworth in 2023.

‘Calamity Lammy’

Shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick referred to a report by Sky News which detailed how a witness present at the prison observed Kebatu appearing “confused” upon his release.

The witness said Kebatu had in fact tried to go back into the prison several times, but was instead guided to Chelmsford station, where he caught a train to London.

Mr Jenrick claimed the case was proof “the only illegal migrants this government are stopping are those that actually want to leave the UK”.

“Dear oh dear,” he said. “Where to begin? This justice secretary could not deport the only small boat migrant who wanted – no – who tried to be deported.

“Having been mistakenly released, Hadush Kebatu came back to prison asking to be deported not once, not twice, but five times, but he was turned away.”

He went on: “The only illegal migrants this government are stopping are those that actually want to leave the UK.

“His officials, briefing the press, called it the mother of all – yeah, they’re not wrong, are they?”

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Mr Jenrick, who served as immigration minister under the previous Conservative government, branded his opposite number “calamity Lammy”.

“It’s a national embarrassment and today the justice secretary feigns anger at what happened.”

Continuing with his attack, Mr Jenrick asked Mr Lammy whether he would resign if Kebatu was not deported “by the end of the week” – to which he received no reply.

But asked later by an MP whether he was considering his position, Mr Lammy replied: “A ridiculous question, the answer is no.”

The new checks announced by Mr Lammy on Monday involve five pages of instructions and require more senior prison staff to sign off a release, according to documents obtained by Sky News.

The instructions are effective from Monday.

The King has been heckled over his brother Prince Andrew’s relationship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein during a visit to a cathedral.

The monarch was shouted at by a man in the crowd outside Lichfield Cathedral in Staffordshire, who asked: “How long have you known about Andrew and Epstein?”

The protester, who was filming on a mobile phone, also said: “Have you asked the police to cover up for Andrew? Should MPs be allowed to debate the royals in the House of Commons?”

The King did not respond to the comments.

The crowd appeared to turn on the person shouting at the monarch, with one telling him to “shut up”.

Graham Smith, chief executive of anti-monarchy group Republic, said he believed the heckler was “one of our own members but doing their own thing”.

He said: “The royals need to be challenged, and if the politicians won’t do the job and the police won’t investigate, then more and more members of the public will be asking tough questions.

“We want to see broadcasters invite Charles into a studio and ask him the same questions.”

Andrew under increasing pressure

Pressure has been rapidly increasing on the King’s sibling, who announced earlier this month he would stop using his Duke of York title and his knighthood, after revelations in the posthumous memoir of his sex assault accuser, Virginia Giuffre.

The prince has always strenuously denied all allegations against him from Ms Giuffre.

Reports also emerged that claimed Prince Andrew asked a royal close protection officer to “dig up dirt” on the late Ms Giuffre.

As a result of these new allegations, the Metropolitan Police said it is “actively looking into the claims”.

Calls to revoke dukedom

There are growing calls for his dukedom to be formally revoked, which can only be done by an act of parliament, and for him to give up his 30-room Royal Lodge home in Windsor Great Park after it emerged he paid a peppercorn (nominal) rent for more than 20 years.

Andrew has been hit with criticism focused on the property he has lived in effectively rent-free since 2003.

Obstacles to a settlement are reportedly where Andrew, who is eighth in line to the throne, will live and what financial recompense he will receive for the funds he spent renovating the home.

After the visit to the cathedral, the King laid flowers at the UK’s first national memorial commemorating LGBT armed forces.

He was joined by dozens of serving and former members of the armed forces, as he met veterans who told of the trauma inflicted by the military’s former “gay ban”.

The memorial, titled An Opened Letter, was unveiled at the National Memorial Arboretum.

The alleged stalker of Madeleine McCann’s family had a “genuine belief” she was the missing girl, a court heard.

Julia Wandelt, 24, from Lubin, south-west Poland, denied claiming to be Madeleine for attention or financial gain on Monday.

She told the trial that she is still questioning her identity now.

Wandelt says she “could only remember abuse” after experiences with her step-grandfather, adding she “could not be able to heal from my trauma if I never fully know who I am”.

Prosecutors accuse Wandelt of peddling the myth she was Madeleine, who went missing aged three on holiday in Portugal, in 2007, by sending emails, making phone calls and turning up at the address of parents Kate and Gerry McCann.

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She says she self-harmed and attempted to take her own life after she was abused by the step-grandfather.

Wandelt told the court her father told her, in 2022, that the man who abused her had “been involved in kidnapping”, so she searched databases for missing people.

After being asked if anyone matched her, she replied: “There were not actually a lot of people my age or around my age, but that is how I found Madeleine.”

Asked about her motivation, she added: “I just wanted to find out who I am. I could not be able to heal from my trauma if I never fully know who I am, what happened to me and if my parents are my parents.”

‘I think I could be Maddie’

Tom Price KC, for the defence, said the defendant had a “genuine and honestly held belief she is Madeleine McCann”.

The court heard she emailed the parents of the missing girl, on 24 June, 2022, a message that read: “Hello I’m writing you because I think I could be Madeleine McCann, the reason why I think I could be Maddie.

“One, I saw the pictures when I was younger, I had the mark on my eye, it’s a little faded now.”

She then goes on to give a number of reasons as to why she believes she may be the missing girl.

This includes that her “documents” might be faked and she may be younger, that her parents would not show her her birth certificate and that she lacks memories before she was nine.

She added that a talk with a psychologist made her question her life.

‘I realised I only remember abuse’

Wandelt told jurors, “she made me reflect on my life more and think about everything that happened. I realised I only remember abuse. My friends, they could remember things”.

She continued: “I started with asking questions because I just could not believe there was nothing else in the story of what happened to me.

“I started asking my parents about everything. What are your blood groups? Is there anything else happened to me you don’t tell me about?”

Asked if she still questions her identity, she replied: “Yes, I do.”

‘I didn’t expect them to refuse’

She claims her parents, who she alleges refused a DNA test, had a different appearance from her, with dark hair and eyes.

Wandelt said: “It made me feel a bit surprised because I didn’t expect them to refuse, especially because at that time I still dealt with a lot of emotional problems.”

Wandelt and her co-defendant, Karen Spragg, 61, of Caerau, Cardiff, both deny one count of stalking between June 2022 and February this year.

The trial continues.