A PRISON officer has been suspended after the Epping hotel migrant sex attacker who sparked nationwide protests was accidentally released from jail.
Cops have now launched a manhunt to find Hadush Kebatu, who was due to be immediately deported but was mistakenly freed.
He was released on the expectation that he would be picked up by immigration enforcement for deportation.
It is unclear what happened next.
One prison officer has now been taken off duty to discharge prisoners while an investigation is underway.
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 found guilty of touching and trying to kiss a schoolgirl in Epping on 7 and 8 July.
He also told the girl and her friend he wanted to have a baby with them and invited them back to the hotel.
He had only been in prison for four weeks after being jailed on September 23.
The illegal immigrant put his hand on the teen’s thigh, tried to kiss her, and told her he wanted to marry her while she was in her school uniform.
Kebatu, who previously worked as a teacher, carried out the attacks just eight days after arriving in Britain on a small boat.
His arrest led to a wave of demonstrations outside The Bell Hotel, where he was staying as an asylum seeker from Ethiopia.
Justice Secretary David Lammy is understood to be “furious” and is working with police to find the criminal.
A senior justice source said: “He has been released in error – this is the mother of all f**k ups.
“It is down to human error, with the wrong paperwork on it or something.
“David Lammy is aware – and is furious.”
Furious Reform leader Nigel Farage said: “The Epping hotel migrant sex attacker has been accidentally freed rather than deported.
“He is now walking the streets of Essex.
“Britain is broken.”
Responding to the accidental release, Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick said: “Remember: they told you that local mums who protested outside the hotel where this sex attacker stayed were the problem.”
MP for Chelmsford Marie Goldman said: “I am closely following developments and am in contact with the police and the prison.
“The police must do everything they can to ensure that this man is returned to custody immediately so that he is deported at once.
“Once the manhunt is over, there must be a full, rapid public inquiry into how this happened.
“This is utterly unacceptable and has potentially put my constituents in danger.”
Recently it emerged Kebautu was being “protected” in a cushy prison where lags can learn to be barbers or baristas.
Kebautu was having contact with other inmates at the Category B jail – which previously held shamed reality star Stephen Bear – limited for his own protection.
He was also listed as being an “escape risk” from HMP Chelmsford in Essex.
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