An intensive police search is currently in progress following the inadvertent release of a hotel migrant who had been convicted of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl in Epping. The suspect, Hadush Kebatu, 41, was mistakenly freed from HMP Chelmsford earlier today, according to a Ministry of Justice representative who spoke with the Daily Mail.

Kebatu, who was supposed to be transferred from the prison to a Home Office immigration removal center for deportation, is now at large, sparking a significant manhunt by law enforcement. The error has been attributed to human oversight, and officials are scrambling to rectify the situation.

A senior figure within the justice system expressed the gravity of the mistake, describing it as a monumental blunder. In response, the prison officer responsible for discharging duties has been temporarily relieved from their position while an urgent investigation is conducted to understand how this lapse occurred.

Police have now launched a major search to locate him. 

A senior justice source described the error as ‘the mother of all f*** ups and said it was down to human error. 

It is understood that prison officer has been removed from discharging duties while an urgent investigation takes place. 

The blunder comes as Sir Keir Starmer is accused of failing the country on migration with his ‘one in, one out’ policy in tatters – after a migrant who was previously deported under the scheme returned to the UK on a small boat.

The Home Secretary David Lammy said he is ‘appalled’ at the latest error, adding the convicted sex attacker ‘must be deported for his crimes, not on our streets’.

Hadush Kebatu, 41, was supposed to be sent to an immigration detention centre to be deported but was instead accidentally let loose

Ethiopian national Kebatu (pictured) tried to kiss a schoolgirl before groping a woman who came to her aid in a series of offences which took place in July

Mr Kebatu is pictured in a court sketch from August 26 before his conviction – he was sentenced to 12 months in prison

Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick said the ‘outrageous’ fiasco was a ‘national embarrassment’.

‘The case of Hadush Kebatu is a parable for how the British state consistently fails the British people,’ the Tory frontbencher said.

‘It’s outrageous the victims have been failed in this way. The whole saga is a national embarrassment. He should have been on a flight out of the UK long ago.’  

Kebatu had been due to be deported from Britain imminently, the Daily Mail understands.

Offenders who are subject to deportation are normally transferred by a secure prison van directly to an immigration removal centre.

Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp added: ‘A dangerous convicted paedophile who attacked a 14-year-old girl has been allowed to vanish back onto our streets. He should have been deported immediately.

‘But this government has no backbone. Whether it’s a migrant breaking back into the UK or record entries into the UK this week has been a litany of failure from the Home Office and Home Secretary.

‘Only the Conservative Party have a serious, hard-edged plan to deliver stronger borders.’

It remains unclear why Kebatu was allowed to leave the prison rather than being put aboard a secure vehicle.

Sources refused to disclose which immigration removal centre had been due to receive Kebatu.

A Prison Service spokesperson said: ‘We are urgently working with police to return an offender to custody following a release in error at HMP Chelmsford.

‘Public protection is our top priority and we have launched an investigation into this incident.’

Kebatu was sentenced to 12 months in prison last month for sexually assaulting the schoolgirl and a woman who attempted to intervene.

He had been in prison for just four weeks before his release today, having been jailed on September 23. 

Kebatu’s arrest sparked a wave of anti-migrant protests outside hotels housing asylum seekers across the country this summer, including outside the Bell Hotel where he was staying (pictured)

Kebatu sexually assaulted the schoolgirl just eight days after arriving on a small boat (Pictured: Asylum seekers are brought ashore in Dover on October 8)

The Ethiopian national acted ‘ignorantly and repulsively’ when he sexually assaulted the schoolgirl and another woman just eight days after arriving in the country on a small boat, Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court heard.

Kebatu became aroused as he put his hand on the girl’s thighs and stroked her hair despite knowing ‘full well she was only 14’.

He also told her he wanted to marry her and have a baby with her, and invited her back to The Bell Hotel in Epping where he was staying. 

The migrant, who was a ‘teacher of sports’ in his home country, then tried to kiss a woman who attempted to intervene, before putting his hand on her leg and telling her she was pretty.

After assaulting the schoolgirl Kebatu was chased back to The Bell Hotel by his adult victim, who called police.

Kebatu denied three counts of sexual assault, one of attempted sexual assault, a charge of harassment and another of attempting to incite a child to engage in sexual activity, but was convicted on all charges at trial.

The offences took place on July 7 and 8 this year.

District Judge Christopher Williams said his ‘disgusting and sickening’ behaviour, which sparked a huge anti-migrant demonstration in Epping, Essex, highlighted the ‘poor regard you must have for women’. 

The migrant had shown ‘no remorse’, the court heard. 

Kebatu, who the court heard had tried to take his own life while on remand in prison, showed no emotion as he was told his sentence. 

He was sentenced to 12 months in prison, made the subject of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order and told to sign the sex offenders register. He was also told to pay £650 in court costs, but is now loose on the streets of Britain.

Kebatu’s arrest sparked a wave of anti-migrant protests outside hotels housing asylum seekers across the country this summer. 

In response the Prime Minister recently announced a new ‘one in, one out’ deal with France, which enables the UK to return migrants to the European country in exchange for genuine asylum seekers.

But the plan hit a road bump this week after it emerged that one such migrant who had been deported to France was spotted arriving in the UK again, having made a second voyage across the Channel.

The PM insisted the man would be swiftly returned, again, to France. 

Speaking to ITV Meridian on a visit to Peacehaven this morning, the PM said: ‘The individual that has returned, he is already in detention. He will now be fast tracked back out of the country, because we obviously have his details.

‘We know he hasn’t got a claim to make, therefore we’ll remove him very, very swiftly. So his return journey back to United Kingdom is completely pointless, and it’s really important I make that absolutely clear.’

Pressed whether the Government’s approach to stopping small boats was ‘in tatters’, Sir Keir said ‘no’.