By Enyichukwu Enemanna
An Ethiopian man who was mistakenly released from a British prison after being convicted in connection with sexual assault against a teenager, has been deported to his home country, the U.K. government said Wednesday.
His deportation came after he was paid 500 pounds ($660) to stop him from disrupting the flight.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu was on a flight to Ethiopia that landed on Wednesday morning.
“I have pulled every lever to deport Mr Kebatu and remove him from 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 immigration 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 cancelled and Kebatu’s deportation being delayed.
Kebatu 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 be deported, but on Friday was mistakenly released from prison, an error that embarrassed the government and sparked a large police search.
He was arrested two days later in a London park.
