The Epping sex offender has long been the most infamous recent illegal migrant into the UK. Protests have been held about him as Epping residents try to get the hotel emptied of male migrants so close to local schools. Ministers have had to answer questions about him in interviews. They have assured us he will be deported after a spell in jail for his crime.
The prison staff would know this was a celebrity offender, being watched carefully by locals, by the national Media, and by Ministers from the PM downwards. So how come they made a mistake and let him out? How come when he himself told them there was something wrong and sought re entry to the prison they waved him away? Why did they give him money so he could buy a rail ticket To London where he could disappear?
The PM and Home Secretary say they condemn this event and will demand explanations. The Labour spin doctors who blamed every civil service bungle on Conservative PMs and Ministers now say we should not blame the PM and Ministers for faults in a prison, Why not, they did. Why not, as they are the ultimate bosses and have provided new laws and new policies through personal leadership on this very issue of asylum seekers and offending.They also demanded more early releases.
It is difficult to believe this was a mistake of just one officer given the procedures they must go through to release someone from custody. It clearly was compounded by the officers who confirmed the prisoner was free to go when he tried to re enter the prison , then asked advice on where he should go. Doubtless as well PM and Home Secretary instructions to go for more early releases and their watering down borders also played their part.
October 26, 2025
This is a high profile case, so we know about it.
Imagine the daily level of incompetence extrapolated across the civil service.
The PM, Home Secretary and Lammy, who gave yet another an extraordinary interview, MUST resign.
October 26, 2025
Maybe it was someone sympathetic to his case. It would be interesting to know the names of the staff involved.
October 26, 2025
Broken Britain. Any number of slackers, sympathisers or incompetents could be involved.
Politicians are ultimately in charge – so the buck stops there. However, the big quangos who run prisons and immigration centres have a long and useless history.
There is no penalty for failure. The next big government contract will be awarded to one of a small number of companies who always get the work despite their previous performance.
October 26, 2025
260 other accidental releases?
October 26, 2025
Carry On Britain.
October 26, 2025
Good morning.
How could they have let him into the country, should be the question, followed by; “Why did they let him remain in the country and not sent back to France ?”
Of course, we are now finding out that, with the power of Digital ID this may never have happened, whilst of course ignoring the second question I posed above.
At least in this case we can say we are being governed by an bonified idiot, so we know the reason this time.
October 26, 2025
@Mark B – “How could they have let him into the country”
No ‘will’, don’t care, not having time for duty and function – sums up this Parliament
October 26, 2025
It doesn’t matter if they did it on purpose or not. This mistaken release and all the others show that the Home Office, just like most of the civil service, is rotten.
It seems to me that the Home Office is the worst performer out of a bad bunch.
Reforming it would cost way too much and so surely the answer is to replace it with a new organisation. Heads of operational departments could report to a new minister.
I cannot see the current government doing this and the Conservatives had no appetite for it in the last administration so we need Reform in power before we can properly sort out the civil service.
October 26, 2025
@Kenneth
Yeah right – just like the way they are sorting out Kent County Council – suck that up mate
October 26, 2025
SG
At least they have found out what is wrong, and that huge sums of money are being wasted, and have exposed it, changing the attitude of all of those involved in the system, or changing the system itself, always proves more difficult and time consuming.
Let us look and see what has happened after more than a year has passed, then perhaps we can form a better judgement.
October 26, 2025
Well I have confidence that they will be not be any worse at Kent Council than the people they replaced, but turning the mess around against resistance from staff, central government, the legal system and many other directions will not be easy. Farage will have an even harder job if he gains power!
Lucy Powell (clearly untruthfully) claims that Farage blames everything on immigrants. No Ms Powell he rightly blames it on Net Zero rip off energy, over regulation, currency debasement, too much taxation and most of it wasted, too large a government, benefits that mean work does not pay, evil policies like VAT on school fees, the assault on Non Doms amd Landlords, the insanity of HS2, Chagos, two tier justice, the mad over restrictive employment laws, planning laws, the rigged markets in energy, education, transport, healthcare, banking, heating systems, cars… this and the vast net costs of low skilled and often criminal immigration levels.
She even wants them to be more bold on all this vandalism that her party is doing, even more vandalism than Cameron, May Boris and Sunak did!
October 26, 2025
LL, That’s a superb riposte to Lucy Powell, like a carronade sweeping the deck of an enemy man-o-war. No chance of you ever being a Conservative policy advisor on how to get them off the floor, more’s the pity.
October 26, 2025
Excuse me?
October 26, 2025
Years of misrule by the Tory party and you expect thigs to be turned around in weeks
1. They have negotiated a reduction in interest payments to the banks.
2. They have cancelled moving offices savin millions.
3. They have cancelled replacement if vehicles with EVs saving thousands.
4. They have cancelled net stupid payment saving millions.
There are many other areas under scrutiny especially the awarding of contracts.
Wind your neck back in.
Reply It would be good to have the actual figures and budget years for these claims. The Council is still spending more this year and consulting to spend more next with a further maximum tax rise.
October 26, 2025
It took several decades of Not-a-Conservative-Party mismanagement to create the mess in Kent County Council.
Reform is starting to rectify it.
Reply What mess did the Conservatives cause at KCC? Why did Reform not cut the budget for the current year on taking over?
October 26, 2025
Here are the Kent County Council auditor’s findings, for the Financial year 2024/25, when the Conservatives were in power. On Adult Social Care and Health, the 2024/25 overspend hit £46.4m and £32.8m of planned savings were not delivered. An in-year overspend of £54.5m in 2024/25 on the Dedicated Schools Grant pushed the cumulative deficit to £97.5m by 31 March 2025. Two accounting/control issues were highlighted: the lack of a formal, documented year-end impairment review for assets under construction; and an over-optimistic Adult Social Care doubtful-debt methodology. That all sounds like quite a mess to me. Massive overspending by the Tory council, and a lack of proper oversight, according to the auditor. I’m not saying there aren’t worse councils, but Reform clearly inherited a pretty dire situation.
https://shepwayvox.org/2025/10/23/kent-county-council-audit-clean-opinion-deep-financial-risks/
Reply The Reform budget consultation for 2026-7 proposes £124 m increase in spending, with a 5% tax rise bringing in £74 m leaving a £50 m additional overspend. They ran with the spending increases in the current year budget and may well overspend this year. You do not detail any spending cuts from the new Council. The outgoing Council covered overspends from reserves which ran at £9.6 m in 2023-4 and at £20.9 m 2024-25 according to the Council’s budget document, not the figures you set out.
October 26, 2025
@Kenneth – Ah… but their discrimination departments(DEI) that chose quotas over best for the purpose hires are working to form. And it is the Taxpayer funding this high paid dysfunctional set up. No one supports the Taxpayer they are just a toy, the money tree
October 26, 2025
What do you expect from this bunch of muppets we call a government in charge, and still there letting in thousands every week to disappear into the economy not knowing if they are friend or foe
October 26, 2025
Aren’t most prison guards still ‘working-from-home’
October 26, 2025
It’s just down to rank incompetence, poor training and “buggins turn” for job promotions.
I expect the prison officer responsible will be busy sweeping out the locker room, until he gets re-trained in the requirement for attention to detail in matters of this nature
October 26, 2025
Earlier this month Mrs Gold and I spent a long weekend in Germany, where we visited the world famous award winning orchid house in the Munich-Nymphenburg Botanical Garden, where they breed rare orchids
We were able to spend some time at the Munich Oktoberfest, enjoying Bavarian culture and street food. The locals make a point of dressing up in traditional costume. Many of the German men were wearing lederhosen and the wenches serving the beers were wearing their Oktoberfest costume.
Mostly they were a happy and cheerful bunch, in spite of having to pay €15 for a stein of Bavarian lager. A plate of the traditional roasted pork knuckle with sauerkraut was €28 and even a side of the amazing German kartoffelsalat (potato salad) was €10
In spite of much inebriation we saw no violence – a few people fell off the rides – the Bratwurst stall was doing well – definitely recommended!
October 26, 2025
I have not spent much time in Germany tending to stick mainly to France, Italy where my wife has a large extended family, Switzerland, Spain, Portugal, Austria, Greece, Sardinia, Turkey and England not a great fan of sauerkraut, litres of larger, german potato salad or leder hosen much myself. Even the bit of France near to Germany gets a bit sauerkrauty for my liking. Perhaps when I retire I should do a tour round Germany.
October 26, 2025
£28 for a lump of pork? Perhaps they were roasting it on electric from solar panels or windmills.
October 26, 2025
I’m sure the Germans were very grateful for your contribution to their economy SG. They need every pfennig at the moment, given their current trevails with VW and the German economy in general.
I attended an Oktoberfest some years ago with work colleagues (11am till 11pm). It was great fun but I can say with some certainty that I had the worst hangover ever the next day. The flight attendant back seemed concerned I might be having a heart attack (I’d gone very pale apparently) and I felt really dreadful. Never again!
October 26, 2025
There is a recent YouTube video taken in Berlin entitled ‘ I Spent 72 Hours in Germany’s Slums (Berlin)’. It gives a better idea of the current conditions in deindustrialised Germany than the carefully controlled pantomime of Oktoberfest. You understand why the Germans are demonstrating with raised fists.
It will be a shame to lose all those orchids, unless they prioritise the orchid house and let the people freeze.
In the cold months on the freezing Continent you should have kartoffelpuffen (mashed potatoes) rather than salad with a huge steaming hock.
October 26, 2025
I simply don’t believe releasing him was an accident.
I think it’s the latest organised event intended to provoke the working class into a riot, which the Authorities could then use as an excuse to impose severe restrictions.
October 26, 2025
Donna :
I agree it is not an accident. The most prominent recent criminal out of about 80,000 is released? He even attempts to return back into custody? A dead cat strategy to take the news away from the Caerphilly by-election and the heat off Jess Phillips etc. Don’t expect him to be found quickly. This shows how the government and Civil Service do not care about our safety. If they were at all interested in curbing illegal immigration and the rise in crime we would hear about the urgent need to build new prisons.
October 26, 2025
Apparently such ‘accidents’ number over 200 in the past year – incompetence or something more sinister?
October 26, 2025
Donna,
You are not alone with such thoughts.
At least the fugitive did not return directly to The Bell Hotel !
October 26, 2025
Yes it was an accident. To suggest this was some kind of plan is to assign a degree of cunning which they just don’t warrant.
There are too many people in prison. Foreigners for a start who shouldn’t even be in this country. If we were to hang the murderers and rapists that would reduce the numbers as well (leaving to one side whether our justice system is reliable enough to deliver sound judgement). Then there’s all those minor offences that could be dealt with by a flogging – gets it done and the offender can get back to his job if he has one. If it’s tax fraud, just give the person a hefty fine. What use prison but for those persistent violent offenders who are a danger to society?
October 27, 2025
Donna I do not think it was deliberate, just total and utter incompetence, you see it in many government departments and organisations day after day, week after week, it will not change until it has better management, the work ethic and responsibilities are like chalk and cheese between Government funded organisations, and the real commercial World,
We have had family members who have worked in both who will confirm such from first hand experience.
October 26, 2025
Not their money, nor they who benefit from the service delivered so they care not what they spend not what value if any they deliver.
So long personally as they are well paid and get a good pension.
October 26, 2025
@Lifelogic – got it, in one. the hires based on discrimination not fit for purpose override common sense
October 26, 2025
I agree , he must be caught before he leaves the Country.
October 26, 2025
It seems he even went back to the prison several times but they would not let him back in!
It is reported that Reeves is considering a mansion tax of 1% of value over £2 m which could be a small house or even a small flat in parts of London. If you have a house worth say £5m and let it out you will often struggle to get more rent than about £120,000 PA less maintenance, insurance, vacant periods, council tax, agents fees, depreciation or contents… leaves perhaps £80k then 40% income tax leave £56k then £30k mansion tax. So you are left with a 0.65% return on you £4m “investment’. Even worse prob. negative if you have any mortgage.
The people renting it will prob. have to earn about £250k to pay 130k in tax and NI and then the rent. So government take about £130k+32k+30k = £192k. So the renter earns £250k government gets circa 75% landlord perhaps a 0.65% return or less for all his £4M capital and efforts!
You no longer own it the government do. Plus when you buy it and sell it you and the buyers have circa 200k of stamp duty and 40% should you die. Who if rational will invest on this basis?
October 26, 2025
Indeed if a mansion tax does come in at whatever value, rest assured with fiscal drag we will nearly all be paying for it in the end.
October 26, 2025
Home Office is unfit for purpose. Given the scale of illegal immigration, the huge number of hotels and properties housing illegals it’s unsurprising confusion and muddle abound. Incompetence caused this failure. Starmer’s far too busy collecting air miles and hugging his overseas chums to be bothered with trivia like this!
October 26, 2025
Yes but the whole of the Uk government is unfit for purpose and has been for a long time!
October 26, 2025
I think your last sentence says it all.
The Labour government are allowing thieves, sex offenders ,rapists and murderers to go free before they’ve done their time.This must create a culture of slackness, hopelessness and lack of care and concern in the prison service and every now and again this attitude is evident when a prisoner goes free who should not have been released.
I also think that quality of staff , poor recruitment practices and lack of available, motivated and willing applicants have allowed the wrong people to be employed in the prison service.
For someone who has been convicted of a child sex offence, given 12 months in jail and is going to be deported anyway why should they really bother if the bosses running this country are seen not to be bothering either.
This is a mindset that runs through any organisation where those running it are weak, slack and in this case are seen to be soft on crime, and are doing things for the wrong reasons which primarily involves releasing criminals early to free up space in overcrowded jails which successive Governments have failed to build enough of.
October 27, 2025
One wonders despite the prisoner’s guilt, whether he did wrong in leaving the prison. Apparently, he made several attempts to check with staff about what he should have done for over an hour, and eventually just complied with their instructions to catch a train from Chelmsford.
If he since changes his mind from accepting being deported back to Ethiopia, he might have grounds for an appeal to stay in the UK, The people involved and the ‘system’ they are working to are both idiotic.
October 26, 2025
I suspect this fellow is just the tip of the iceberg. If he is ever caught (again) My money says he’ll either never be deported. Or if he is, he’ll be back on the next available dinghy.
October 26, 2025
It is a fundamentally mistaken doctrine that the person in charge of an organisation or a government Minister should be held personally responsible for the unauthorised actions of every idiot, incompetent or malefactor employed within their organisation. That is a significant misconception. For instance the misbehaviour of Chris Pincher was the pretext for ousting Boris Johnson (even though Theresa May had previously appointed Mr. Pincher to the exact same position!). It is the officials themselves who should be made accountable for their own mistakes and accordingly sacked. Likewise if a public sector employee is responsible for bringing a Court case that is lost, it should not be the taxpayer that is liable for any legal costs but the employee or employees that brought the case.
What the head of organisations or Ministers should be held responsible for is the decisions they themselves made and the strategic modus operandi ( methods of operation) of their organisation.
October 26, 2025
Couldn’t disagree more.
October 26, 2025
What a complete and utter waste of money to hold yet another public enquiry, which will take years to report back, when the answer will already be clear by examination of the internal paperwork, and the procedures completed or missed.
Government delay and complication at great expense again.
October 26, 2025
Was it a bureaucratic oversight? I don’t believe it is. I believe this man’s release was intentional and politically motivated to achieve two things. One, to create a sense of institutional chaos that attracts more funding. The same tactic is used by the NHS ie 24 hours to save the NHS to attract more funding. Second, to politically embarrass Starmer by some state employees who loathe the left’s mass immigration agenda,.
October 26, 2025
Certainly not “a mistake.” There are quite a few “beneficial” potential consequences – for the Authorities.
October 26, 2025
More Government shambles but what do they care? The only way to deal with the problem is to (a) turn them back mid channel or (b) on arrival in Dover retain in secure accommodation according to country of origin and return in batches as appropriate.
The defense that their country of origin is unsafe is not acceptable given that they have cherry picked
their way to the UK via other safe countries. Either go back to your country of origin or claim sanctuary on reaching the first supposed safe country.
October 26, 2025
The prisoner’s case clearly wasn’t being watched by The Prime Minister or any of his juniors, or they would have seen that such a thing was unable to happen, by making it clear that they were watching.
October 26, 2025
The whole system is not just broken it has been corrupted beyond unfit for purpose.
This is how our government keeps us safe!
This is how our government ensures attacks on women and girls are not allowed to happen.
What else has to happen before this regime dies a death of shame?
October 26, 2025
It was only on YouTube (Mahyar Tousi) that I saw the masked Islamic crowds taking to the streets of London supposedly in response to a UKIP presence which had been disallowed in Tower Hamlets and the Met Police stood inactive when the Islamists entered the zone from which they in turn had been disallowed entry.
October 26, 2025
How can they block the entire street, knee down and prayer and the police just let them …if we blocked the kings highway we’d be fined/arrested
October 26, 2025
Anyone who does have the discipline and competence as prison staff doesn’t want to do that job. So they have to recruit just about anyone to make up the numbers. Following the news I hear the wrong person being released is a regular occurrence.
We’ve seen how prison staff have got into inappropriate relationships with inmates, so this is just further evidence of poor candidate selection.
The government will get into a flap about it, but nothing will be done and it will happen again and again.
October 26, 2025
Dave, very good reasons why people do not want to be prison staff is simply the risk factor of personal and family harm, those who are at the sharp end and are in constant contact with the prisoners are at particular risk.
Family member used to work within the prison service in an administration capacity, you would not believe the threats to personal harm and their family members are made to the front line staff, remember prisoners have contact with the outside World, so the threat exists and does not stop just because they are locked up.
The so called human rights and do gooders of this World have a lot to answer for with regards to the system failing.
October 26, 2025
9.30. Stop Press. PM “We’ve got ‘im. Mission accomplished”.
October 26, 2025
@Miami.mode. One in, one out!
October 26, 2025
Ironically that chap we sent to france and returned …is still here
October 26, 2025
Sadly I am sure there are many other such instances but obviously of a lesser profile. For the past umpteen years governments of all persuasions have cut back the budget for law and order. See the demise of your local police station, the closure of Magistrate Courts et al. AND we are told the protection of the populace is if prior importance. Another example of gas lighting.
October 26, 2025
Simples! .. the Country is being forced to be dysfunctional, by a lazy freeloading Parliament and its Government. Lets get real they, parliament and its government are the UK.plc’s management, its Board of Directors. They are the ones that lay-down the criteria’s make the Laws and define and monitor outcomes. On behalf of us the shareholders.
Yes, there maybe a mouthpiece, a Minister, said to be that departments Boss. But intern the Minister is challenged in Cabinet and approved by the PM, as to whether something is fit for purpose. After that it is the whole of Parliament that holds individuals to account, ensures there are no holes or disparities. They Parliament dissects and questions actions of their chosen Government and its Ministers – what could go wrong? Yes, it could be suggested that no one would know all nuances for the process they introduce, but ministers have a massive expensive team that advises plays devils advocate outlines all options, all outcomes, for them to choose so as to ensure their Boss, their Minister, their ultimate Manager and Parliament gets it right.
Hence that phrase ‘lazy & freeloading’, ego and personal esteem has gotten in the way of purpose.
From what we see the DEI operations of the State, with their ultra discrimination paid for by the taxpayer seems to ‘work’ we(the taxpayer) no longer gets the best person for the job.
October 26, 2025
You couldn’t make this up!
Switch this on its head. How many people are still languishing in prison at our expense, because the guards got the paperwork wrong and forgot to let them out?
October 26, 2025
Or are almost certainly innocent like Lucy Letby due the incompetence of our courts or absurd two tier sentencing – Lucy Connolly should have had nothing more than a warning!
October 26, 2025
The Ethiopian child molester has been apprehended and is back in custody, Starmer and Lammy say he’s going to be deported
He needs to be deported ASAP, as should the rest of his ilk
October 26, 2025
SG
How long before he is back ?
October 26, 2025
Each day we think things can’t get any worse under Starmer and this wretched Labour Government but they do!
October 26, 2025
Agree the whole thing seems very odd indeed – as you say they all must have known who he was. No chance at all of Lammy telling us what really happened though.
October 26, 2025
Was he ‘set up’ in the first place? Quite possible, in the present climate.
October 26, 2025
The man in charge doesn’t seem to think this thing is worth talking about. “Reports confirm HMP Chelmsford’s governor, Mark Howard, is not speaking to stakeholders individually, including MP Marie Goldman, amid the erroneous release probe. Goldman described this as “unacceptable” and expressed frustration over the communication blackout.” (Grok) That’s how public life in this country is now: whatever goes wrong, just don’t admit responsibility, and hope the media will be talking about something else tomorrow.
October 26, 2025
My husband has a theory – it’s got the grooming gangs off the front pages of the newspapers!
Peter Bleksely, said yesterday, that as the police hadn’t reached out , he presumed they were okay in their search…he’s now been found.
Maybe we’re being conspiratorial?
October 26, 2025
Hadush Kebatu is arrested in London park and it looks like we gave him enough money to buy himself a complete new outfit https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/c17pez0pl57t
October 26, 2025
“Lessons will be learned” echoes eternally on repeat mode.
The post war record for Top of the Political Pops!
Next up is “We inherited from the previous government…”
Followed by “Blame it on Brexit”.
October 26, 2025
In the Soviet Union, the authorities made announcements that no one believed, and the authorities knew no-one would believe. But that didn’t matter. No one was able to speak out against it, and being able to impose lying twaddle on the public with no resistance just showed the absolute power of the authorities. It humiliated the public who knew they were being lied to, but could do nothing. I think that’s the point we’re reaching in this country. About this prison release ‘error’, we’re supposed to believe a story that’s completely unacceptable.
October 26, 2025
Brilliant and correct
”’and the authorities knew no-one would believe”’ ….20mph, heat-pumps, hs2, covid masks, manifesto, EVs etc etc
October 27, 2025
How come indeed?
One stands back in amazement!
Let’s hope this incident is added to the long list of things the rape gangs enquiry is to investigate. It won’t be of course. Instead we can expect another cover up.
October 27, 2025
I have just finished watching a series called “Long shadow”.A little time in watching,I realised it was about The Yorkshire ripper.The police couldn’t handle things well in the 1970’s so why should we expect an improvement with thousands and thousands more people and criminals on the streets.This release is about overcrowding and fundamentally an ethic which bullies and uses women and others who cannot stand up to the brainwashed.
October 27, 2025
Almost immediately on taking office Starmers Gang started a programme to release thousands of violent criminals from prison in order to make space for Britain’s first gulag for political prisoners. Perhaps the programme needs fine tuning.