THE Prison Officers Association (POA) is set to meet Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy to discuss the mistaken release of a sex offender following his arrest after a high-profile manhunt today.

POA general secretary Steve Gillan welcomed a probe into how Ethiopian national Hadush Kebatu was wrongly freed from HMP Chelmsford on Friday instead of being sent to an immigration centre.

He told the Morning Star: “I am glad this offender is back in custody and I am sure the victims of his sex offences will be relieved.

“Until the investigation is complete, the POA will not comment further as it would be wrong to speculate on how and why he was released. 

“The investigation will be an opportunity for the POA — as the largest recognised trade union for prison officers — to have an input. 

“We also look forward to meeting with the Deputy Prime Minister, not just to discuss this issue but other very challenging issues our members face on a daily basis after years of constant budget cuts and neglect.”

PM Sir Keir Starmer confirmed that Mr Kebatu will be deported soon after police found and arrested him inside Finsbury Park following a tip-off by a member of the public at around 8.30am today. 

“We have ordered an investigation to establish what went wrong. We must make sure this doesn’t happen again,” Sir Keir added after Chelmsford’s Liberal Democrat MP Marie Goldman called for a “rapid” national inquiry into the blunder that saw Mr Kebatu walk free.

A prison officer has been taken off duties discharging prisoners while an investigation takes place.

Talking to Sky News, a delivery driver described seeing Mr Kebatu, who came to Britain as an irregular migrant on June 29, repeatedly return to HMP Chelmsford after being mistakenly released, only to be turned away by prison staff and directed to the railway station.

It is understood he left prison with some personal money but was not given a discharge grant to cover subsistence costs.

Mr Kebatu was found guilty of five offences after a three-day trial at Chelmsford and Colchester magistrates’ courts.

He was convicted of making inappropriate comments to a 14-year-old girl before trying to kiss her and sexually assaulting a woman in July.