The father of the girl sexually assaulted by Epping asylum seeker Hadush Kebatu has refused to forgive David Lammy after meeting with the Justice Secretary in person.
The Ethiopian national, 41, had been living at The Bell Hotel when he sexually assaulted the teenage girl and a woman in seperate incidents, sparking a wave of protests outside the taxpayer-funded accommodation used to house migrants.
The father, who cannot be named in order to protect his daughter’s anonymity, met with the Justice Secretary on Thursday and told ITV News he did not shake Mr Lammy’s hand upon meeting him.
However, while the father said the Deputy Prime Minister had “earned” his respect for saying sorry to him in person, he had not forgiven him and Labour for their failings.
Kebatu, who arrived in the UK on a small boat just days before the incidents in June, was found guilty of five offences following a three-day trial at Chelmsford and Colchester Magistrates’ Courts.
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 girl’s thighs and stroking her hair during incidents in Essex, his trial was told.
The defendant, who was a “teacher of sports” in his home country, 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, the court was told.
Now the father of one of his teenage victims said he “didn’t get any answers, really” after meeting with Mr Lammy.
David Lammy met with the father of one of Kebatu’s victims
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PA
The father told ITV News: “I wouldn’t say he’s earned forgiveness. At a push, he’s earned my respect today for the way he presented that apology. There’s a lot to forgive, and to be honest, I don’t know if I’m ever going to be able to forgive for that.”
He added: “I thought today would’ve given me some sort of closure and a bit of a clearer mind. But if I’m honest, it hasn’t. We didn’t get any answers, really.”
A spokesman for the family and local councillor Shane Yerrell grilled Mr Lammy over the possibility of bringing forward the closure of The Bell Hotel despite the High Court rejecting the proposal.
Mr Yerrell said: “There was no promise to close the Bell Hotel anytime soon. I asked about the contract expiring in March and I wasn’t given a confident answer. He didn’t say yes or no.”
Hadush Kebatu assaulted a 14-year-old girl and a woman
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PAKebatu made further headlines after he was wrongly freed from HMP Chelmsford in October instead of being sent to an immigration detention centre, triggering a two-day manhunt.
He was forcibly removed to Ethiopia on October 28 with a team of five escorts on the flight.
One of Kebatu’s victims said a £500 payment he received after threatening to mount a legal challenge against his deportation was “like he got paid for what he had done to me”.
In a statement, which was read by Mr Yerrell not long after his accidental release from jail, the girl said she was “scared and so anxious” after hearing of his mistaken release.
Hadush Kebatu was accidentally freed from HMP Chelmsford
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ESSEX POLICEThe girl said: “I think it’s disgusting how me and my family have been treated in all of this and it’s not fair that he was released by accident.
“I feel like I was put in danger all over again and all of the feelings from the day it happened came back. We found out he was being deported, and I was being told by everybody that he got paid £500.
“When I got home I just cried because I felt like he got paid for what he had done to me.”
The girl added: “I didn’t want to be in Epping because I was so scared I was going to see him and he would recognise me.”
David Lammy came under fire for the accidental release
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SKY POOLA Ministry of Justice spokesman said: “Hadush Kebatu’s crimes were awful and we express our deepest sympathies to the victims and their loved ones.
“We understand the distress a release in error causes to victims and their families and these cases have exposed deep-rooted issues across the broken justice system the Government inherited.
“We’re determined to bear down on these mistakes and keep the public safe, which is why we’ve introduced tougher new checks, launched an independent investigation and are investing millions to modernise technology to replace archaic paper-based systems.”
The most recent figures suggest 39,292 people have made the journey across the English Channel so far this year.
Home Office officials pointed to the increase in the average number of people per boat compared with 2022 as a sign that disruption by law enforcement was “significantly impacting the gangs’ tactics” and forcing them to “take greater risks”.
Meanwhile, data revealed 91 accidental prison releases took place between April 1 and October 31 this year.
Speaking to ITV on Tuesday, Mr Lammy said he had been “reassured” two prisoners still missing are not violent or sexual offenders, but refused to give further details about them.
Mr Lammy also revealed 12 inmates had been freed in error since he last gave a statement to the House of Commons on November 11.
He said: “I’m not going to give details of those cases, because these are operational decisions made by the police, and you’ll understand if they’re about to arrest somebody they don’t want me to blow the cover.”