Migrant sex offender Hadush Kebatu, who was wrongly freed from prison, has claimed in an interview with Sky News that he tried to hand himself in to police a day before he was arrested, but was ignored by officers.

The Home Office said Kebatu, 38, was deported from the UK on Tuesday night.

Speaking to Sky News after he arrived back in Ethiopia on Wednesday morning, Kebatu shared details of his accidental release from HMP Chelmsford on 24 October and the two-day manhunt that followed.

The convicted sex offender was repeatedly questioned on his crimes, but Sky News has chosen not to broadcast this part of the interview.

‘Ignored’ by police

The morning after he was released from prison, Kebatu claimed he tried to hand himself into police, but was ignored.

He said: “I [told] police, look here, police I am wanted man, I am arrested, I will give you my hand, please help where is police station? He ignored me, he drove [off].”

He added that he told the officer his name and that he was mistakenly released from prison.

“I am not unknown. The police station, where is the place? But also I go to police, I will give you my hand please help me where is the police station, take me, I am wanted.

“You know me, or my image, my name is Hadush Kabatu, nationality Ethiopia. Please, I was the mistake release from Chelmsford prison. Please help me.”

Responding to Kebatu’s claims, the Metropolitan Police told Sky News: “The Met is not aware of any evidence to support the claims that Kebatu approached officers on Saturday morning.

“The actions of officers who responded to the sighting of him on Sunday morning show how seriously they were taking the manhunt. Kebatu’s actions on the morning of his arrest were more like those of someone trying to avoid officers, not trying to hand himself in.”

Release from prison

Kebatu was released by HMP Chelmsford a month into his 12-month sentence on the expectation he would be picked up by immigration enforcement.

He said after he was released he waited more than three hours outside the prison, for what he described as someone who was “responsible” for him.

He said: “At that time I am waiting more than three hours… who [is] responsible for me? Where is Home Office, where is [immigration]?

“I was told there was a bus. Also, all the experts, they all ignored me.”

In another Sky News story, a delivery driver who spoke to Kebatu outside Chelmsford prison said he looked “confused”.

The driver said he was approached by the prisoner, who had no idea where he was supposed to go. He said Kebatu waited outside the prison for roughly “an hour and a half” before leaving.

Kebatu said after he left the prison, he asked a passerby where the train station was. He claimed someone helped him, and bought him a train ticket for £18.

Kebatu then travelled to London. He was spotted later that evening in Stratford, east London, and then the Dalston area of Hackney.

The Ethiopian national arrived in the UK on a small boat on 29 June. Days after his arrival, he sexually assaulted a 14-year-old girl and a woman in Epping, Essex, where he was staying.

He was found guilty of two counts of sexual assault, one count of attempted sexual assault, one count of inciting a girl to engage in sexual activity and one count of harassment without violence.

He was jailed on 23 September.

When approached by Sky News, the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) pointed to a statement made by Justice Secretary David Lammy upon Kebatu’s deportation: “Kebatu has been returned to Ethiopia where he belongs.

“I am grateful to Home Office colleagues for acting swiftly to secure his deportation. I have been clear from the outset that a mistake of this nature is unacceptable, and we must get to the bottom of what happened.

“I have established an independent investigation chaired by Dame Lynne Owens into last Friday’s events to get the public the answers they rightly deserve, and we have introduced the strictest checks ever seen in our prison system to stop similar unacceptable errors in future.”

Essex Police, who arrested Kebatu after the assaults in July, told Sky News: “Our officers responded quickly to the reports of the sexual assaults committed in Epping and arrested Hadush Kebatu on the same day the offences were reported to us.

“Kebatu was then immediately remanded in custody, while officers acted diligently and professionally securing charges and building a case which saw Kebatu convicted following a trial. Protecting women and girls is a priority for Essex Police and our swift and thorough actions highlight our commitment to this.”

Migrant sex offender Hadush Kebatu was given £500 to be deported to Ethiopia following his mistaken release from prison, Sky News understands.

The government, who confirmed he was escorted on to a plane at Heathrow Airport on Tuesday night, said he has no right to return to the UK.

But Sky News understands Kebatu was handed a discretionary payment of £500 as part of efforts to avoid a lengthy legal challenge after he made threats to disrupt his removal.

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said she “pulled every lever” to deport Kebatu, although it is thought the decision about the payment was made by removal teams, not ministers.

“I am pleased to confirm this vile child sex offender has been deported. Our streets are safer because of it,” she said.

Kebatu was found and arrested by the Metropolitan Police in the Finsbury Park area of north London at around 8.30am on Sunday following a manhunt.

Last month, he was found guilty of sexually assaulting a schoolgirl and a woman in Epping, Essex, just over a week after arriving in the UK on a small boat.

He was expected to be deported, but instead of being handed over to immigration officials, he was released in error from HMP Chelmsford on Friday.

He spent just under 48 hours at large before he was apprehended.

The accidental release sparked widespread alarm and questions over how a man whose crimes sparked protests in Epping over the use of asylum hotels was able to be freed.

Ms Mahmood said: “Last week’s blunder should never have happened – and I share the public’s anger that it did.”

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Lammy blames ‘human error’ for release of migrant sex offender

On Sunday, Justice Secretary David Lammy said an exclusive Sky News interview will be used as part of an independent inquiry into the mistaken release.

Speaking to Sky’s national correspondent Tom Parmenter, a delivery driver who spoke to Kebatu at HMP Chelmsford described him as being “confused” as he was being guided to the railway station by prison staff.

The migrant is said to have returned to the prison reception four or five times before leaving the area on a train heading to London.

Mr Lammy, who put Kebatu’s release down to human error, said he has 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”.

From Monday, new checks include five pages of instructions and demands that more senior prison staff sign off on a release, according to documents obtained by Sky News.

“I have been clear from the outset that a mistake of this nature is unacceptable, and we must get to the bottom of what happened,” said Mr Lammy.

Rachel Reeves has said she is determined to “defy” forecasts that suggest she will face a multibillion-pound black hole in next month’s budget, but has indicated there are some tough choices on the way.

Writing in The Guardian, the chancellor argued the “foundations of Britain’s economy remain strong” – and rejected claims the country is in a permanent state of decline.

Reports have suggested the Office for Budget Responsibility is expected to downgrade its productivity growth forecast by about 0.3 percentage points.

That means the Treasury will take in less tax than expected over the coming years – and this could leave a gap of up to £40bn in the country’s finances.

Ms Reeves wrote she would not “pre-empt” these forecasts, and her job “is not to relitigate the past or let past mistakes determine our future”.

“I am determined that we don’t simply accept the forecasts, but we defy them, as we already have this year. To do so means taking necessary choices today, including at the budget next month,” the chancellor added.

She also pointed to five interest rate cuts, three trade deals with major economies and wages outpacing inflation as evidence Labour has made progress since the election.

Speculation is growing that Ms Reeves may break a key manifesto pledge by raising income tax or national insurance during the budget on 26 November.

Read more from Sky News:
What tax rises could Reeves announce?
Start-ups warn chancellor over budget bombshell

Budget decisions ‘don’t come for free’

Although her article didn’t address this, she admitted “our country and our economy continue to face challenges”.

Her opinion piece said: “The decisions I will take at the budget don’t come for free, and they are not easy – but they are the right, fair and necessary choices.”

Yesterday, Sky’s deputy political editor Sam Coates reported that Ms Reeves is unlikely to raise the basic rates of income tax or national insurance, to avoid breaking a promise to protect “working people” in the budget.

Sky News has also obtained an internal definition of “working people” used by the Treasury, which relates to Britons who earn less than £45,000 a year.

This, in theory, means those on higher salaries could be the ones to face a squeeze in the budget – with the Treasury stating that it does not comment on tax measures.

In other developments, some top economists have warned Ms Reeves that increasing income tax or reducing public spending is her only option for balancing the books.

Experts from the Institute for Fiscal Studies have cautioned the chancellor against opting to hike alternative taxes instead, telling The Independent this would “cause unnecessary amounts of economic damage”.

Although such an approach would help the chancellor avoid breaking Labour’s manifesto pledge, it is feared a series of smaller changes would make the tax system “ever more complicated and less efficient”.