"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."
"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."
Hadush Kebatu arrived in the UK on June 29 by small boat and was housed in Epping while seeking asylum. Nine days later he sexually assaulted a woman and a 14-year-old girl and received a 12-month prison sentence in September. His offenses provoked protests outside an asylum hotel and intensified anti-asylum sentiment. An accidental release during transfer to an immigration detention centre triggered a 48-hour manhunt before his re-arrest. The Home Office made a discretionary £500 payment to secure his removal after he threatened to disrupt the process, citing greater costs and delays from cancelling flights.
Read at HuffPost UK
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