Independent investigation and immediate reforms to prevent future releases in error
Source: gov.uk (2025-10-27)

Dame Lynne Owens will lead the independent investigation to determine how Hadush Kebatu was mistakenly released from HMP Chelmsford on Friday 24 October, Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy has announced today.

- Dame Lynne Owens will chair independent investigation to get answers public deserve
- Mandatory new, stronger checks also brought in from today for releases to keep our streets safe
- Deputy Prime Minister pledges immediate action to prevent another mistaken release
The investigation will establish the full facts of the incident, which shocked the public, and look at the serious issue of releases in error across the prison estate. The Deputy Prime Minister has asked for Dame Lynne Owens to report back within eight weeks.

Speaking in the House of Commons today, David Lammy set out how the investigation will get to the bottom of what happened and stop similar unacceptable mistakes in future.

It will ask what went wrong, consider whether appropriate protocols were followed, assess whether staff had sufficient experience, training and resources, and make recommendations to reduce further releases in error.

The Deputy Prime Minister has also confirmed immediate measures to strengthen release checks across all prisons – making them the strongest release checks to ever be in place. From today, the Duty Governor must be physically present for the release of any foreign criminal who is being removed from prison early to be immediately deported and there will be a clear checklist with governors required to confirm every step has been followed before any release takes place.

Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy said:

I am livid on behalf of the victims and the public that this mistake was allowed to happen.

Any release in error is one too many. That is why I have taken immediate action to introduce the strongest release checks ever and launched an independent investigation to get to the bottom of what went wrong and to tackle the rise in accidental releases which began rising under the previous government.

We’re ending the prison crisis we inherited - investing billions, reforming sentencing and building the prison places needed to keep the public safe. This Government will not rest until our jails deliver the safety and security the British people deserve.

Dame Lynne Owens is a former Deputy Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police and former Director General of the National Crime Agency, bringing her extensive expertise to the investigation.

Kebatu, an Ethiopian national, was set to be transferred to an Immigration Removal Centre and deported back to Ethiopia. Instead, he was mistakenly released into the community.

Following an intensive manhunt involving the Metropolitan, Essex, and British Transport Police, he was arrested and returned to custody on Sunday 26 October. He will now be deported to Ethiopia as quickly as possible.

Releases in error have been increasing for several years and are another symptom of the prison system crisis inherited by this Government, with jails dangerously full and close to collapse.

The Government is taking decisive action to address this crisis, building 14,000 additional prison places and reforming sentencing to make sure we have enough prison places to lock up dangerous criminals and keep the public safe.

The Government has already delivered 2,500 new places in just over a year, as part of the biggest prison expansion programme since the Victorian era.