Convicted sex offender who was mistakenly released from a UK prison is deported to Ethiopia

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LONDON (AP) — An Ethiopian man who was mistakenly released from a British prison after being convicted of sexually assaulting a teenager has been deported to his home country, the U.K. government said Wednesday — but only after he was paid 500 pounds ($660) to stop him disrupting the flight.

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu was on a flight to Ethiopia that landed Wednesday morning.

“I have pulled every lever to deport Mr. Kebatu and remove him off British soil,” she said. “I am pleased to confirm this vile child sex offender has been deported. Our streets are safer because of it.”

In a last-minute wrinkle, Kebatu threatened to disrupt the deportation flight, and imigration officials paid him to go quietly.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer's spokesman, Tom Wells, said the “operational decision” saved even greater expense from the flight potentially being canceled and Kebatu's deportation delayed.

Kebatu has become a symbol of Britain’s emotive debate over unauthorized immigration, and the government’s struggle to control it.

He arrived in England in a small boat across the English Channel just days before he was arrested in July over alleged assaults on a woman and a 14-year-old girl.

The case sparked anti-migrant protests outside the Bell Hotel in Epping, northeast of London, where Kebatu was staying along with other asylum seekers. The protests spread to other cities, with some-attended by right campaigners and descending into violence.

Kebatu was convicted of sexual assault and was due to de deported, but on Friday was mistakenly released from prison, a blunder that embarrassed the government and sparked a large police search.

He was arrested two days later in a London park.

The issue of unauthorized migration — especially the tens of thousands of people crossing the Channel in overloaded boats — has risen to the top of the political agenda in Britain.

More than 36,900 people have made the dangerous crossing from France to the U.K. so far this year, more than the total for 2024.

The government has pledged to end the policy of using hotels to house migrants who are awaiting a decision on their asylum status, but is struggling to find alternatives.