Sex offender ‘returned four or five times to reception’ after prison release error

A migrant sex offender who was mistakenly released from prison was seen by a delivery driver “returning four or five times” to the reception, as he hung around outside for around “an hour and a half”.

Hadush Kebatu was jailed for 12 months in September for sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl and another woman. The former asylum seeker, who had been living at the Bell Hotel in Epping, was due to be deported, but on Friday he was released from HMP Chelmsford by error.

The Met Police is now leading the manhunt for the 38-year-old, with searches centred on London where the last confirmed sighting of him was in Dalston, Hackney, on Friday evening. A still from CCTV footage has been issued of him inside a library in Dalston Square at 6pm.

On Saturday, as police chiefs made a direct appeal to Kebatu, an interview was aired by Sky News with a delivery driver who said he spoke to him while delivering a fridge at the time of his release.

The driver, Sim, said Kebatu knew he was supposed to be deported and kept asking prison staff “what to do”, returning to the prison reception “four or five times”.

“He came out of the airlock, and kept saying to the officers there, ‘Where am I going? What am I doing? I don’t know where I’m going and what I’m doing,’” Sim told Sky News.

“He was holding a pack of paperwork in his arms, and his bag of bits… He knew he’d been deported. He came over to me and said, ‘I need you to help me.’”

Sim said that a member of prison staff “told him that he had to get on a train” and directed Kebatu to Chelmsford station to catch a train to London, telling him: “You’re released, you’re released.”

Sim said Kebatu waited outside the prison for roughly “an hour and a half” before leaving.

“He kept scratching his head and saying, ‘Where do I go, where do I go?’

“The fourth or fifth time [he went into the reception] he was starting to get upset, he was getting stressed. I’m not sticking up for the guy, but in my eyes, he was trying to do the right thing. He knew he was getting deported, but he didn’t know where he was going or how he should get there.”

A prison officer has been taken off duties to discharge prisoners while an investigation is underway.

Videos circulated online appeared to show a man resembling Kebatu in Chelmsford town centre shortly after his release, wearing a grey tracksuit and carrying a plastic bag.

In an update on Saturday, police said Kebatu has access to funds and had made several train journeys across London.

Detectives say he got off a train at Stratford, with CCTV later catching him in Dalston Square, where he was seen carrying his belongings in a distinctive white bag with pictures of avocados on it. He was last seen in the area at 8pm, the Met said.

Commander James Conway, who is leading the manhunt, urged Kebatu to give himself up. He said: “We believe he has access to funds, and critically, in both Chelmsford and London, we believe he has sought assistance from members of the public, and has spoken to station staff.”

He added: “I am making a direct appeal to Mr Kebatu. We want to locate you in a safe and controlled way.

“You had already indicated a desire to return to Ethiopia when speaking to immigration staff.

“The best outcome for you is to make contact directly with us by either calling 999 or reporting yourself to a police station.”

The Independent contacted the Ministry of Justice which referred a request for a statement to deputy prime minister David Lammy, who earlier said he was “livid on behalf of the public”.

He added: “I spoke to the home secretary today. I have launched an investigation into what has happened in the prison service to allow this to come about.

“But the important thing is that we protect the public. The important thing is that the police are able to do their work and find this individual.”

During the trial at which Kebatu was convicted of sexually assaulting a girl, it was heard how he told two teenagers he wanted to “have a baby with each of them” and attempted to kiss them, before going on to put his hand on one of the girls’ thighs and stroke her hair.

He was also found to have sexually assaulted a woman by trying to kiss her, putting his hand on her leg and telling her she was pretty.

Kebatu was found guilty of five offences following his three-day trial at Chelmsford and Colchester magistrates’ courts.

Wardley shows a new side to secure improbable heavyweight fight v Usyk

Fabio Wardley collapsed in delight after a gruelling and, at times, messy fight that was punctuated with the most thrilling of knockouts. It finally dispatched Joseph Parker in the 11th round to set up a meeting with heavyweight king Oleksandr Usyk. A fight that would never have been conceivable years ago, after Wardley emerged from the white-collar scene, only for Dillian Whyte to display vision and pluck him from obscurity.

The stoppage will provoke debates and it is rather unfortunate that the referee was Howard Foster, sparking memories of that controversial first meeting between Carl Froch and George Groves. For now, Wardley won’t care, with this gripping eliminator unfolding after years of Usyk solidifying himself as an untouchable force that has presided over the division. But Parker v Wardley is one of a number of fights beneath him, gradually shifting the tides of a confusing pecking order, with a litany of contenders and hopefuls. Now though, the Ipswich man, the WBO interim world heavyweight champion and still undefeated, defied the repeated onslaughts from a polished Parker to inflict a thudding stoppage just as the 12th round drew near.

This absorbing contest, which had Parker up by six rounds on one card, two on another, with the third having it level entering the 11th round, saw both fighters unload a barrage of shots at the slightest oppportunity. But it would be shortsighted to discard this heavyweight scrap as merely a brawl, with Parker’s skills often framing the more brutal shots. Wardley, too, showcased a new side. The jabs, from a low, languid stance, surprising the Kiwi with their trajectory, and the slashing shots to the body offered wrinkles to this violent chess match.

“We knew he was tough, I knew he was hurt, but he wouldn’t go early, we picked our spots and eventually got him out of there,” Wardley said. “I told everyone I wouldn’t lose today, and I did what I said I’d do. It hasn’t sunk in yet; everyone talks about my story.

“Everyone said I wouldn’t go anywhere, I’d be still lost on small halls without Whyte, he picked me out of the rough and changed my life.”

In Wardley’s way tonight was Parker, whose admirable recent run has seen him comprehensively pick apart Deontay Wilder, at a point when the American was still a terrifying prospect. But with Halloween approaching, Parker has thrived as the boogeyman of the division, collecting feared contenders, including the Belligerent Zhilei Zhang, who was dispatched over 12 intense rounds. Martin Bakole, on just two days’ notice, as a replacement for Daniel Dubois, was then ruthlessly discarded, showcasing a menacing side to the New Zealander’s renowned skills.

Wardley’s popularity has grown through his simple approach: see target, hit target. A rugged style, stemming from his amateur fighting background, that epitomises the essence of heavyweight boxing. The Briton had a frustrating and, at times, demoralising night at the hands of Justis Huni in June as the Ipswich man’s world title dreams started to fade at the hands of the classy Australian. But Huni’s momentary lapse in concentration and one exhilarating swipe from Wardley scrambled his foe’s senses to flip the contest to soar into world title contention.

A pivotal fight to the heavyweight landscape, the audience ringside in East London proved as much. Tyson Fury, who rejected the prospect of a return to boxing from retirement this week, even for £1bn, watched on with intrigue, his white suit with roses and splashes of blood perhaps an ominous glimpse at the action to come. Two more heavyweights, with an active role in the future of both fighters in the main event, also gathered, with former world champion Daniel Dubois well placed for a February return, the Independent has been told, while Lawrence Okolie, ranked fourth in the WBO, could also emerge as the next challenger.

Wardley had to absorb piston-like jabs from the first round, with an explosion towards the end of the opener, leaving the Briton desperately clinging on. And through the third and fourth rounds, sweat started to spray from both gloves and heads as the toll of the contest started to become apparent. A weary look from Parker at the end of the sixth hinted at both respect and surprise at the fierce challenge posed by Wardley, and maybe shock at how he was still standing.

But Wardley’s uppercut, part of his versatile arsenal, did enough to fend off Parker’s combinations and eventually signalled the beginning of the upset.

The classic, looping Wardley shot cracked an exhausted Parker in the 11th with the original version, a whirlwind of a heavyweight, storming into range to overwhelm Parker. Was Parker vulnerable? Only so much as what appeared to be coming in a matter of seconds, he took a couple of big right hands, an uppercut and remained upright as the left hook finally forced Foster to step in. A delirious O2 crowd erupted and a chaotic celebration unfolded from Wardley’s corner, with the team diving on top of their man.

For Wardley, there is now a previously inconceivable macth-up: The once rough and rugged prospect, scratching and clawing for an opportunity as a white collar fighter is poised to test himself against one of the greatest boxers of all time. The mercurial former Olympic champion and two-weight undisputed champion, who has left even the esteemed Fury and Anthony Joshua memerised. But the allure of the heavyweight division endures, despite Usyk’s dominance in recent years. Every reign must end, and Wardley now has that precious place at the front of the queue. “Usyk,” Wardley howled after standing tall once more after taking a tumble in celebration. Many have doubted him throughout his career, but it’s just the way he likes it.

Reeves under pressure to target high earners in Budget tax raid

Rachel Reeves is under pressure to break Labour’s manifesto pledge with a tax raid on the highest earners amid growing calls from within Labour to hit the wealthy.

Ministerial sources have told The Independent that changes to the top rate of income tax have been discussed within government as the chancellor looks to find ways to fill a Budget black hole estimated to be between £30bn and £40bn.

The changes would exceed the 1p increase to income tax that Ms Reeves is also understood to be considering.

One source said: “The 45p rate is definitely in play. It would be a popular move within the party.”

The 45p rate is applied at a rate of 45 per cent on income above £125,140, and is expected to be paid by more than 1.2 million people by the end of the year.

The move would break the manifesto pledge to not increase income tax, VAT or employee contributions on national insurance.

However, another source said: “Rachel is in a fix. If we are going to break this manifesto pledge but it was targeted at the highest earners, then I think that would be understandable.”

Speculation that the government is ready to drop its manifesto pledge was heightened earlier this month when the PM’s spokesperson hinted that the manifesto pledge on not raising income tax may not hold.

When asked if income tax, VAT or national insurance could rise in the Budget, the PM’s spokesperson said: “I’m not going to speculate on the Budget but as the chancellor said today, the numbers will always add up.”

However, after claims in The Guardian that the manifesto pledge could be broken generally, Cabinet Office minister Nick Thomas-Symonds insisted on Friday that the manifesto pledge still stands.

But according to sources, changes could involve an increase to the 45p rate, or a lowering of the threshold where it kicks in from £125,140 to around £100,000.

This would impact the so-called HENRYs – high earners but not rich yet – who are already hit by the tax and benefits system.

At £100,000 of earnings, benefits like support for child care are lost. Added to that there is a gradual reduction in the £12,570 personal allowance of income tax-free earnings from £100,000 by £1 in every £2 to £125,140, where it is lost altogether when the 45p rate kicks in.

Some reduce their earnings by putting money into pension funds to bring them under the thresholds where the tax and benefit penalties apply, but Ms Reeves is also understood to be looking at closing this loophole as well.

The Independent revealed this month that the cabinet is already split over the Budget, with disagreement over “taxes on aspiration” including VAT on private school fees and the abolition of non-dom status, with millionaires leaving the UK in record numbers.

One cabinet minister told The Independent: “We do not get enough of a say on tax. Discussion has been very limited and kept to the Treasury but there needs to be an opportunity for more input.”

It is understood that there are “serious concerns” about Ms Reeves trying to fill the budget gap with “a basket of taxes” rather than “grasping the nettle” by increasing income tax, while other ministers want to see reductions in spending, especially on welfare.

Meanwhile, pressure from the left of the party for Ms Reeves to go after the rich and big corporations has been ramped up with the election of sacked left-wing cabinet minister Lucy Powell as deputy leader by Labour members.

But experts have warned that making changes to the top rate of income tax would not raise as much as some in Labour hope.

Isaac Delestre, senior research economist at the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS), said: “A 1p increase in the additional rate gets you about £200m, which is not an enormous amount.”

He also warned that the gradual reduction in the initial income tax-free personal allowance of £12,570 is already causing problems, which would be made worse.

“Reducing the threshold at which it starts to apply is a bit more problematic. Currently the tapering away of the personal allowance effectively creates a 60 per cent income tax rate for income between £100k and £125k.

“If you just reduced the additional rate threshold to, say, £110k you would end up with a 40 per cent rate up to £100k, a 60 per cent rate up to £110k, a 67.5 per cent rate up to £125k, and then a 45 per cent rate beyond that.”

Professor Stephen Millard, deputy director for macroeconomics at the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR), said: “According to the government’s calculations, a 5p rise in the 45p top rate would only raise around £1bn by 2029-30.

“Decreasing all main allowances, starting and basic rate limits by 1 per cent would raise almost £2 billion.”

Tax expert Dan Niedle was also sceptical about the impact of the move.

He said: “The 45p rate is right at the point where diminishing returns are setting in. Nobody was ever really able to determine whether the old 50p rate raised a bit of money or lost a bit of money.”

He warned that the loss of personal allowance was creating very high tax rates of more than 60 per cent when people hit certain income levels and warned that the chancellor should focus more on dealing with that problem.

“The real value would be in dealing with the anomalously high rates between £100,000 and £125,000 of 62 per cent plus,” he said.

The chancellor had to deny claims she was looking at hiking VAT during the Labour Party conference at the end of last month.

However, she is also understood to be looking at a gambling tax and changes to capital gains taxes. Labour MPs are also piling on pressure for her to look at wealth taxes on property and other assets.

The chancellor has been hit by poor growth and higher than expected inflation in the run up to the crucial Budget on 26 November.

Asked about potential changes to income tax for the highest earners, a Treasury spokesperson said: “The chancellor has been clear that at Budget she will strike the right balance between making sure that we have enough money to fund our public services, whilst also ensuring that we can bring growth and investment to businesses.”

Norris leaves rivals trailing in his wake with super Mexico GP pole

Lando Norris left F1 title rivals Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri trailing in his wake as he stormed to pole position at the Mexican Grand Prix.

Norris ended his six-race run without pole position, his last coming in Belgium in July, by dominating the field and beating Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc by 0.262 seconds.

It was a significant boost to Norris’ title hopes as rivals Verstappen and Piastri struggled to fifth and eighth respectively.

Piastri will start seventh due to a grid penalty for Williams’ Carlos Sainz but the championship leader has been well off the pace all weekend and was almost six tenths adrift.

Lewis Hamilton claimed third on another impressive day for Ferrari and he will be hopeful of landing his first podium for the Scuderia on Sunday.

Verstappen arrived in Mexico City as the man in form, having roared back into championship contention by winning three of the last four races, and was favourite to rack up another victory in Mexico City – where he has won five times before.

He trails leader Piastri by 40 points – down from 104 five races ago – and is 26 behind second-placed Norris with 141 points still to fight for.

The Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez boasts the longest run from pole to the turn one braking point on the F1 calendar, and Norris will be braced for a testing 830m dash when the lights go out on Sunday.

The Mexico City circuit is one of the trickiest of the season, with the low air density at altitude making it difficult to generate downforce.

Verstappen was one of the drivers struggling for balance in the opening session of qualifying and was only ninth-fastest, with Racing Bulls’ Isack Hadjar leading the way and Norris fourth.

Piastri was eliminated in Q1 here 12 months ago. He narrowly squeezed through to Q3 by less than a tenth, with relief etched on the face of team principal Andrea Stella, but was no threat to pole and has major work to do on Sunday to prevent significant damage to his title lead.

Leclerc surged to provisional pole in the first runs in Q3 but Norris found the answer with his run, a scintillating 1.15.586 second lap which could prove pivotal in his title bid.

Enriching escapes: find your perfect luxury break

Liverpool’s Premier League title defence already appears in tatters

Liverpool’s Premier League title defence already appears in tatters after a damaging 3-2 defeat at Brentford.

Goals from Dango Ouattara, Kevin Schade and Igor Thiago inflicted a fourth straight loss on Arne Slot’s increasingly rattled Reds.

Milos Kerkez pulled one back and Mohamed Salah ended his recent goal drought, but the champions are still in the doldrums with summer signings Florian Wirtz and Hugo Ekitike quiet on a tough night for the champions.

Liverpool are now down in sixth, behind Bournemouth, Manchester United and Sunderland among others, and could find themselves seven points adrift of leaders Arsenal by the end of the weekend.

Slot was well aware of Brentford’s threat from long throws, but Liverpool still could not handle them as they fell behind after only five minutes.

Michael Kayode’s delivery was nodded on by Kristoffer Ajer at the near post and Ouattara got ahead of Kerkez to hook the ball home.

Salah’s first chance arrived courtesy of Cody Gakpo’s through-ball, but his touch was heavy and former Reds teammate Caoimhin Kelleher was out quickly to smother the ball at his feet.

Wirtz should have scored 20 minutes in after Ekitike’s back-heel ricocheted in front of him, but the German screwed his shot wide from 12 yards.

Brentford grew more adventurous and Jordan Henderson, playing against the team he captained to the title for the first time since he left in 2023, almost doubled his current side’s lead with a 20-yard drive which flew inches wide.

Henderson’s midfield partner Mikkel Damsgaard, then went even closer with his curling effort tipped over the crossbar by Giorgi Mamardashvili.

The second goal arrived in the 45th minute, just moments after Gakpo had a pretty strong case for a penalty turned down following a challenge from Nathan Collins.

Wirtz lost the ball in midfield and Damsgaard played the perfect defence-splitting pass to Schade, who showed Ibrahima Konate a clean pair of heels before finishing past Mamardashvili.

However, Liverpool grabbed a lifeline in stoppage time when Conor Bradley’s cross was lashed home by fellow fullback Kerkez.

Brentford were unhappy that play had gone on well past the three minutes of added time shown, with boss Keith Andrews angrily kicking a water bottle onto the pitch.

But referee Simon Hooper may well have added some more time on for the interminable delays at every Brentford throw.

After the break Virgil Van Dijk clipped Ouattara on the edge of the box and referee Tim Robinson – on as a sub for Hooper – gave a free-kick.

But a VAR check showed the contact was on the line, a penalty was awarded and Thiago did the rest.

With two minutes remaining, Salah grabbed his first goal in seven matches, a sweetly struck finish after Ajer’s hesitation allowed Dominic Szoboszlai to get in a cross.

But the equaliser would not come, and when a late Liverpool attack was cleared by a wall of red and white, it was celebrated almost like a goal by the buoyant Bees.

Reform MP apologises after slamming adverts ‘full of black people’

Reform MP Sarah Pochin has apologised for any offence caused after saying “it drives me mad when I see adverts full of black people, full of Asian people”.

She said her comments were “phrased poorly” but insisted that many adverts are “unrepresentative of British society”.

Labour said her comments were “completely unacceptable” and called on party leader Nigel Farage to condemn them.

The Runcorn and Helsby MP was responding to a viewer on TalkTV who complained about the demographics of advertising.

The MP said the viewer was “absolutely right” and “it drives me mad when I see adverts full of black people, full of Asian people”.

She said: “It doesn’t reflect our society and I feel that your average white person, average white family is…  not represented anymore.”

Ms Pochin blamed the situation on the “woke liberati” in the “arty-farty world”.

“It might be fine inside the M25, but it’s definitely not representative of the rest of the country,” she said.

In a later statement, she said she was trying to say the advertising industry had gone “DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) mad”.

She said: “My comments were phrased poorly and I apologise for any offence caused, which was not my intention.

“The point I was trying to make is that the British advertising agency world have gone DEI mad and many adverts are now unrepresentative of British society as a whole.

“I will endeavour to ensure my language is more accurate going forward.”

Labour Party chairwoman Anna Turley said: “It’s astonishing that a senior Reform MP is spending her time counting the numbers of people with a different skin colour to her on TV adverts.

“Defining British people by the colour of their skin is completely unacceptable and shows once again that Reform are more interested in dividing our country than uniting it.

“Nigel Farage needs to condemn this now, and urgently clarify whether Sarah Pochin’s views on race are welcome in his party.”

A Liberal Democrat source said: “Sarah Pochin’s half-hearted apology beggars belief. Instead of simply saying sorry, she’s tried to double down and excuse herself.

“Nigel Farage must take action and condemn her remarks, or explain why he agrees with what she said.”