Enhanced prison checks to be introduced after sex offender mistakenly freed

Prisons will introduce enhanced checks before inmates are released, after a sex offender was mistakenly freed.

The new checks 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 and have been hurriedly introduced after migrant sex offender Hadush Kebatu was released by accident on Friday, instead of being deported. He's now back in custody and due for deportation this week.

He was sentenced last month for sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl and a woman in Epping. Kebatu had been staying at an asylum hotel and committed the crimes days after he arrived in the UK on a small boat.

Following this case, a duty governor is now personally responsible for carrying out an inspection of a release checklist, which is new. Previously, it would have been for more junior Offender Management Unit (OMU) members of staff.

"Part A" of the checklist, which the documents say are "to be completed the day before release by the Duty Governor", includes a question which says: "If the Foreign National Offender (FNO) is not to be released, is there a IS91 in place to make them an immigration detainee only?"

An IS91 is the form which tells staff to hold the offender in custody for transfer to an immigration detention centre. Sources suggest either Kebatu was not marked as an IS91, or that marking was missed by staff.

Under a heading "immediate release", the member of staff is asked: "For FNOs, have the prison confirmed with the Home Office whether they wish to hold an IS91?"

Another section titled "Discharge Policy" asks staff to check the prisoner's warrant, and to ensure "there are no deportation orders" in place.

A prison service source told Sky News the new checks will take a long time, suggesting it could take staff an additional half an hour per prisoner to complete.

Read more:
Timeline of manhunt for migrant sex offender
How many prisoners are released by mistake?

An inquiry has been announced by Justice Secretary David Lammy to consider where mistakes were made, and why Kebatu was set free rather than sent to an immigration removal centre to be deported.

A prison officer at HMP Chelmsford has been suspended from discharging duties, but sources suggest the responsibilities for this error will be seen as much broader than that.

This is not the first time an offender has been released by mistake. In the year to March 2025, 262 prisoners were released in error, marking a 128% increase from 115 the previous year.

A report by the Ministry of Justice put this down to staff increasingly having to complement operational changes, including early release schemes.

Sky News has approached the ministry for comment.

Asked about the increased work time of 30-40 minutes per prisoner, a spokesperson for Sir Keir Starmer said: "We make no apology for protecting the public, these checks are necessary.

"This was a shocking case and we'll do what's necessary to ensure the public is protected."

They added: "Under the last government, there were 800 releases by accident. Mistakes are likely to happen when you have early releases."

(c) Sky News 2025: Enhanced prison checks to be introduced after sex offender mistakenly freed