The United Kingdom government on Wednesday announced the deportation of an Ethiopian migrant and convicted sex offender, confirming he was given £500 ($661) to facilitate his departure, a move that has intensified scrutiny over its handling of immigration issues.
At the same time, ministers revealed a new bilateral agreement with Vietnam designed to accelerate the deportation process for migrants, the latest in a series of return deals following a rise in Vietnamese nationals arriving via small boats from France last year.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s centre-left administration is grappling with mounting criticism as migrant arrivals across the English Channel continue to surge and several high-profile crimes involving foreign nationals dominate headlines.
Among the most controversial recent cases is that of Hadush Kebatu, an Ethiopian who was convicted of sexually assaulting a teenage girl and a woman but mistakenly freed from custody last week.
His earlier arrest this year in Epping, northeast of London, had already triggered a wave of protests targeting hotels thought to be sheltering asylum seekers.
The Home Office confirmed that Kebatu was forcibly deported to Ethiopia early Wednesday after being recaptured on Sunday, ending a nearly two-day police manhunt.
Justice Minister, David Lammy has ordered an independent inquiry into the blunder that led to his release. Kebatu had served just one month of a one-year prison sentence before the mistake occurred.
Explaining the controversial payment, Junior Minister Alex Norris told parliament that “an operational decision was taken” to grant the 38-year-old £500 because “the alternative was slower (and) more expensive.”
Later the same day, London police charged a 22-year-old man — identified by local media as Afghan national Safi Dawood, with murder and two counts of attempted murder after a knife attack on Monday in Uxbridge, northwest London.
According to the Home Office, Dawood entered the UK in 2020 hidden in a lorry and was granted asylum and indefinite leave to remain two years later.
In a separate case, Somali national Haybe Cabdiraxmaan Nur was sentenced to life in prison with a minimum term of 25 years for murdering a bank customer in Derby last May, shortly after his asylum request was denied.
Prime Minister Starmer, who came to power in July 2024 promising to “smash the gangs” behind small-boat crossings and expand deportation agreements, said the new Vietnam deal sends “a clear message: if you come to the UK illegally, you will be swiftly returned.”
The agreement follows similar arrangements signed this year with Iraq, France, and several nations in the western Balkans.
Meanwhile, lawmakers expressed unease over the government’s plan to repurpose two former army barracks to accommodate asylum seekers as part of its push to phase out hotel housing.
Starmer reiterated his commitment to closing asylum hotels “as quickly as possible,” restating his earlier target of 2029.
Under current plans, the Cameron Barracks in Inverness, Scotland, and the Crowborough army camp in southeast England will house about 900 asylum seekers collectively by year’s end.
Earlier this week, a parliamentary report criticized successive interior ministers for having “squandered billions” on what it called a deeply flawed asylum accommodation system.
The use of ex-military facilities has long been contentious. The previous Conservative administration, ousted in 2024, was taken to court by asylum seekers over conditions in a similar camp, which judges ruled failed to meet basic living standards.
