- 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, 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 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.
