Billions of pounds are being wasted by the Home Office on asylum hotels, a committee of MPs say.

A damning report by the Home Affairs Committee says the expected cost of housing asylum seekers has tripled from £4.5bn to £15.3bn.

This follows a “dramatic increase” in demand following the COVID pandemic and rising numbers of those arriving by small boat.

The report, referring to accommodation contracts for 2019-2029, criticises the Home Office for failing to reclaim excess profits from asylum accommodation providers totalling tens of millions of pounds owed to the department.

The government has promised to end the housing of asylum seekers in hotels by 2029 amid mounting pressure over costs and a backlash in local communities.

Communities Secretary Steve Reed told Sky News the government was “working at pace to fix the problems we inherited” including expanding the number of caseworkers examining asylum cases.

“The Home Secretary… has been involved in conversations about how you can look at using disused military bases, for instance, instead of hotels, to accommodate people far more cheaply.

“But it takes time to get your hands on those sites, construct the accommodation and then move people into it. But we’ve already saved £1 billion. So it’s starting to go down.”

The report said that, without a clear plan for alternative accommodation, the government risks “under-delivery and consequently undermining public trust still further”.

It added that the Home Office repeatedly cut corners in its “chaotic” response to pressures.

Committee chair Dame Karen Bradley called for the government to “get a grip” on the system “in order to bring costs down” and learn from its mistakes, or it is “doomed to repeat them”.

She added: “The Home Office has not proved able to develop a long-term strategy for the delivery of asylum accommodation. It has instead focused on short-term, reactive responses.”

The committee’s report also noted the Home Office failed to engage with communities and local residents who have “genuine concerns” over asylum hotels in their area, as well as people travelling from other areas “to promote divisive agendas or instigate disorder”.

MPs have pressed for the Home Office to prioritise closing hotels where there have been “significant community cohesion issues” – including in Epping, Essex, where demonstrations outside the Bell Hotel were held after migrant Hadush Kebatu was charged and later jailed for sexual assault.

The report said: “The Home Office has undoubtedly been operating in an extremely challenging environment, but its chaotic response has demonstrated that it has not been up to the challenge.

“The 2026 break clause and end of the contracts in 2029 represent opportunities to draw a line under the current failed, chaotic and expensive system and move to a model that is more effective and offers value for money.

“The lack of engagement and transparency has left space for misinformation and mistrust to grow, which in too many areas has led to tensions and undermined the ability of local partners to promote social cohesion.”

It also said the government has mismanaged contracts handed to hotels used to house asylum seekers. This includes a lack of fines for hotels that have poor performance and not claiming tens of millions of pounds in excess profits.

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The committee has instead called for a future accommodation system to be based on fairness rather than cost alone, to improve communication with local communities and be flexible to meet unpredictable demands.

A Home Office spokesperson said: “The government is furious about the number of illegal migrants in this country and in hotels.

“That is why we will close every single asylum hotel – saving the taxpayer billions of pounds.

“We have already taken action – closing hotels, slashing asylum costs by nearly £1bn and exploring the use of military bases and disused properties.”

The small-boat sex offender Hadush Kebatu was arrested on Sunday morning on the third day of a manhunt after he was mistakenly freed from prison.

The Ethiopian national had been serving a 12-month sentence at HMP Chelmsford since September. He was due to be released in order to be immediately deported, but instead he was able to board a train to London.

The mistake triggered a manhunt that involved three police forces looking for the prisoner. He was finally tracked down to Finsbury Park on Sunday, where he was arrested.

Here, Sky News examines how the event has unfolded:

Friday 24 October

Kebatu is released from HMP Chelmsford wearing a prison-issued grey tracksuit. He is also holding a clear plastic bag containing his possessions.

The prison released him on the expectation that he would be picked up by immigration enforcement, and the Home Office was ready to take Kebatu to an immigration removal centre, it is understood.

But it is unclear exactly what happened next.

A lorry driver, who was delivering equipment to Chelmsford jail on Friday, told Sky News correspondent Tom Parmenter he saw the “confused” offender outside the facility being directed by prison staff to the city’s railway station following his release.

The offender is said to have returned to the prison “four or five times” but was turned away.

Footage later appears to show Kebatu in Chelmsford High Street.

In the video he appears to ask a group of people for help.

12.41pm: The prisoner boards a Greater Anglia London-bound train at Chelmsford station.

12.51pm: The train arrives at Shenfield station, in the Essex borough of Brentwood.

12.57pm: Essex Police are informed by the prison service that Kebatu was mistakenly released.

The force says it has launched a search operation and is working closely with partner agencies.

By the time the search started, the train that Kebatu boarded at Chelmsford had already called at Shenfield, according to Trainline data.

Essex Police appeals to anyone who has seen the prisoner to contact the force immediately.

1.12pm: Kebatu gets off the train at Stratford in east London.

8pm: Kebatu was seen in the Dalston area of Hackney.

He was pictured still wearing his prison-issue grey tracksuit top and bottoms, and was carrying his belongings “in a distinctive white bag with pictures of avocados on it”.

Saturday 25 October

12.37pm: The Metropolitan Police announces it has taken over the manhunt for Kebatu.

In a statement, commander James Conway says senior investigating officers are “examining CCTV” from around Stratford station and further afield, to establish information about the prisoner’s subsequent movements.

2.00pm: A delivery driver who spoke to Kebatu outside Chelmsford prison tells Sky News the “confused” offender was guided to the railway station by prison staff.

He says Kebatu approached him with no idea of where he was supposed to go.

He adds the prisoner must have been outside the prison for roughly “an hour and a half”, before he finally left, adding: “They [the officers] were basically sending him away, saying, ‘Go, you’ve been released, you go’.”

4.30pm: Met Police Commander James Conway makes a direct appeal to Kebatu.

“We want to locate you in a safe and controlled way. You had already indicated a desire to return to Ethiopia when speaking to immigration staff,” he says.

“The best outcome for you is to make contact directly with us by either calling 999 or reporting yourself to a police station.”

He says he believes Kebatu has access to funds and that he’s sought assistance from members of the public and station staff in both Chelmsford and London.

Read more:
How many prisoners are released by mistake?

Sunday 26 October

8.30am: After receiving information from the public, the Met trace Kebatu to Finsbury Park where he is arrested and taken into custody.

9.30am: Met Police put out press statement confirming the arrest of Kebatu and say: “This has been a diligent and fast paced investigation led by specialist officers from the Metropolitan Police, supported by Essex Police and the British Transport Police.

“Information from the public led officers to Finsbury Park and following a search, they located Mr Kebatu. He was detained by police, but will be returned to the custody of the Prison Service.

“I am extremely grateful to the public for their support following our appeal, which assisted in locating Mr Kebatu.”

What happened in the lead up to the wrongful release?

Kebatu was found guilty of five offences after a three-day trial at Chelmsford and Colchester magistrates’ courts in September.

His case led to protesters and counter-protesters taking to the streets in Epping, Essex, and eventually outside hotels housing asylum seekers across the country.

The incidents occurred in July, eight days after he arrived in the UK by small boat.

Police are urgently searching for a man suspected of raping a woman in a racially motivated attack. 

West Midlands police were called to the Park Hall area of Walsall just after 7.15pm on Saturday night after a woman was seen in distress in the street.

The woman, in her 20s, had been raped and assaulted at a nearby property by a man she did not know, according to police.

The incident is being treated as “racially aggravated” and police have released CCTV footage of the suspect, asking anyone who knows his identity to call 999 immediately.

The suspect is described as white, in his 30s, with short hair, and was wearing dark clothing.

“This was an absolutely appalling attack on a young woman, and we are doing absolutely everything we can to arrest the person responsible,” said Detective Superintendent Ronan Tyrer.

“We have teams of officers recovering evidence and building a profile of the attacker so that he can be brought into custody as soon as possible.

“While we are following multiple lines of enquiry right now, it’s vital that we get to hear from anyone who saw a man acting suspiciously in the area at the time.

“It may be that you were driving through the area and have dashcam footage, or you have CCTV that we have not yet recovered. Your information could be the vital breakthrough that we need.

“At this stage we are not linking this attack to any other offences.”

In September, a Sikh woman was raped in grassland in Tame Road, Oldbury, in an incident also treated as racially aggravated by police.

Preet Kaur Gill MP, the Labour (Co-op) MP for Birmingham Edgbaston, posted on X: “Deeply shocked and saddened that we are hearing of yet another racially aggravated rape this time in Walsall.

“West Midlands Police have reported a rape and assault of a young woman in her 20s in the Park Hall area, described as racially aggravated.”

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West Midlands Police confirmed officers from the public protection unit, local policing officers and forensic officers had worked overnight on the investigation.

Chief Superintendent Phil Dolby said: “Walsall is a diverse area and we know the fear and concern that this awful attack will cause in our communities.

“We have been speaking to people in the community today to listen to and understand their concerns and there will be an increased policing presence in the coming days.”

Anyone with information is asked to contact West Midlands Police on 101 or the live chat online, quoting log 4027 of 25 October.