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Good morning. Maybe the most gobsmacking detail about the accidental release of Hadush Kebatu from HMP Chelmsford was this, from a delivery driver who was delivering equipment to the prison as he left: Kebatu, who was serving a sentence for sexual assault and was due to be deported, appeared baffled as he walked free, and lingered outside the gates for an hour and a half before heading away. \u201cThey [the officers] were basically sending him away, saying, \u2018Go, you\u2019ve been released, you go,\u2019\u201d the driver told Sky News. \u201cHe kept scratching his head and saying, \u2018Where do I go, where do I go?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
On its face, that might look like incompetence. But the fiasco of Kebatu\u2019s release may point to much bigger issues in the prison system. Yesterday, the justice secretary, David Lammy blamed \u201chuman error\u201d \u2013 while the Prison Officers\u2019 Association (POA) called the suspension of a single officer \u201cunjust\u201d.<\/p>\n
A new checklist for prisoner release is now in place, and an inquiry chaired by a former senior Met police officer is underway. Today\u2019s newsletter, with Institute for Government criminal justice researcher Cassia Rowland<\/strong><\/em>, is about whether any of that is likely to be enough to stop this happening again. Here are the headlines.<\/p>\n Hurrican Melissa | <\/strong><\/em>Jamaicans have started to take shelter from Hurricane Melissa as the category 5 storm neared the coast amid warnings of catastrophic flooding, landslides and extensive infrastructure damage. The slow-moving giant is set to make landfall early on Tuesday.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Climate crisis | <\/strong><\/em>Humanity has failed to limit global heating to 1.5C and must change course immediately, the secretary general of the UN has warned. In his only interview before next month\u2019s Cop30 climate summit, Ant\u00f3nio Guterres acknowledged it is now \u201cinevitable\u201d that humanity will overshoot the target.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Reform UK <\/strong><\/em>| Nigel Farage has defended remarks made by a Reform MP who said seeing adverts full of black and Asian people \u201cdrives her mad\u201d. The Reform UK leader said if he felt Sarah Pochin\u2019s words were \u201cdeliberately and genuinely racist\u201d, he would have \u201ctaken action\u201d against her.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Sudan<\/strong><\/em> | Fears grew for hundreds of thousands of civilians trapped in El Fasher after the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces said it had captured the city, which it has been besieging for more than a year in Sudan\u2019s civil war.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Ministry of Defence | <\/strong><\/em>At least 49 family members and colleagues of Afghans affected by the MoD\u2019s mass data breach have been killed, according to research submitted to a parliamentary committee.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n <\/span>Hadush Kebatu was supposed to be deported rather than released from prison. <\/span> Photograph: Essex Police\/PA<\/p>\n On Friday, Hadush Kebatu was supposed to be transferred to the custody of the Home Office for deportation to his home country of Ethiopia. Instead, somehow, he was freed. The suspension of a prison officer at HMP Chelmsford appears to suggest that individual human error played a part; on the other hand, the POA insists that the officer in question, who was responsible for going through the paperwork to ensure that the right prisoner was being released, \u201cis not the only one involved in this entire process.\u201d And the mistake happened in a system that most observers say is on its knees, and where a similar error could have much more severe consequences in the future.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is most damaging from a public trust perspective,\u201d Cassia Rowland said. \u201cThere\u2019s just a sense that everything is breaking. My mental model of it is slow-motion collapse: it\u2019s not that things are on the brink, it\u2019s that they\u2019re failing more and more seriously, in more and less visible ways.\u201d<\/p>\n How did the accidental release happen?<\/strong><\/p>\n Kebatu\u2019s exit from HMP Chelmsford is about as far away from digging a hole behind a poster of Ursula Andress as it\u2019s possible to get. According to the delivery driver who spoke to Sky, named as Simofficers at the gate ignored his doubts over what had just happened, saying, \u201cYou\u2019re released, you\u2019re released.\u201d<\/p>\n Accidental releases are usually the result of miscalculating the date when someone should be freed. That does not appear to be not what happened here. \u201cIt appears the error was that he was incorrectly flagged for release rather than deportation,\u201d Rowland said. One member of staff would have been responsible for completing the paperwork confirming Kebatu\u2019s release 14 days earlier; two days before his release, a senior manager would have checked it over. But the apparent confusion at the gate may be indicative of a broader problem.<\/p>\n \u201cSomething has clearly gone wrong in that situation,\u201d Rowland said. \u201cThe fact that nobody felt able to say, hang on a minute \u2013 they can\u2019t have thought they were setting him up for a successful release if they were shooing him away from the prison gates.\u201d<\/p>\n Was this human error or evidence of a systemic problem?<\/strong><\/p>\n Even if one officer bears the lion\u2019s share of responsibility for the mistake, it is hard to ignore the system within which they were operating: 262 people were released from prison by mistake in 2024-25, more than double the number the previous year and more than four times the number in 2014-15.<\/p>\n A senior prison staffer made the link explicit in an interview with the BBC: \u201cThis is down to a series of mistakes probably because staff are overworked and in short supply,\u201d the staffer said. \u201cIt\u2019s not just one prison officer who\u2019s to blame. That would be unfair.\u201d<\/p>\n HMP Chelmsford has a chequered recent history, with a disastrous 2020 inspection leading officers to effectively walk out of a violent and unsafe prison and a follow-up report the year after saying that little had improved. A more recent inspection noted improvements but also pointed to an increasing rate of \u201cchurn\u201d, with officers \u201cmanaging more admissions, transfers and immediate releases without additional resources\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cChurn is really high in a lot of prisons at the moment,\u201d Rowland said. \u201cAnd with so many people coming in and going out of prisons, it substantially increases the risk of these kinds of mistakes happening.\u201d<\/p>\n The loss of experience among prison staff is another ongoing problem that can make incidents such as the one at HMP Chelmsford more likely: while the leaving rate among operational staff across the Prison Service was 4% in 2009-10, and 7.5% a decade ago, it now stands at 12.5%.<\/p>\n \u201cYou have the leaving rate among more senior staff doubling since 2010, as well,\u201d Rowland said. \u201cSo you don\u2019t have the mentorship for junior staff to learn by example. That makes them more likely to leave in turn. It means that those kinds of common sense calls \u2013 \u2018Hang on a minute, why isn\u2019t he leaving, let\u2019s see what\u2019s going on\u2019 \u2013 are less likely to be made, because people don\u2019t feel confident or empowered to say that something isn\u2019t right.\u201d<\/p>\n What do we know about resources in the prison system?<\/strong><\/p>\n Rowland\u2019s diagnosis of slow-motion collapse is not an unusual view of a system that has faced severe underfunding and growing numbers for years. In August, a review by former prisons watchdog Dame Anne Owers said the prison system had been in crisis because of overcrowding for more than a year, but that Rishi Sunak refused to cut jail numbers. That forms part of a broader problem of inadequate resources across the justice system, from probation to the courts.<\/p>\n Rowland published a well-timed report on this last week, full of alarming statistics, which concluded: \u201cThe Labour government has successfully eased the immediate prison capacity crisis. But the situation in prisons remains extremely poor, with rampant drug use, limited purposeful activity and very high levels of violence.\u201d<\/p>\n While Labour took the politically difficult step of pursuing the early release programme rejected by Sunak, turning that around looks extremely difficult given the wider context. \u201cThere are multiplier effects where problems in one part of the system make problems in other parts of it worse, and things snowball from there,\u201d Rowland said.<\/p>\n While cases like Kebatu\u2019s make the headlines, a more ordinary problem is what happens when people are released as they should be. \u201cProbation is disastrous at the moment,\u201d Rowland said. \u201cThe system is utterly overwhelmed. There\u2019s a 30% vacancy rate for qualified probation officers \u2013 that is ludicrous. It makes it impossible to run a properly functioning system.\u201d<\/p>\n What\u2019s being proposed to stop it happening again?<\/strong><\/p>\n As well as the suspension of an officer, there will now be a five page \u201cticklist\u201d that asks officers to check prisoners\u2019 details, as well as any tattoos or scars against a photograph before they are set for release. And Lammy announced an inquiry to be chaired by former Metropolitan police deputy commissioner Lynne Owens.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s pretty understandable if in the immediate aftermath the government wants to take some steps to make sure it\u2019s not going to happen again immediately,\u201d Rowland said. \u201cAnd it\u2019s not necessarily inappropriate for the government to ask, given it\u2019s not just a one-off case: how do we get to grips with the problem? Without knowing more specifics, it\u2019s hard to know if it\u2019s sensible and proportionate. What they shouldn\u2019t be doing is panicking and implementing processes that are going to waste people\u2019s time.\u201d<\/p>\n Senior prison officers appear to think there is a risk of exactly that happening, while the chief inspector of prisons, Charlie Taylor, told BBC Radio 4 yesterday that he did not have enough information to say whether the changes were appropriate.<\/p>\n \u201cThey should avoid pinning it all on one person, because that won\u2019t encourage an open approach to mistakes,\u201d Rowland said, pointing out that 20% of prison officers who left the service last year were dismissed \u2013 a number which, even if it points to individual failings, is too large to dismiss as a \u201cbad apple\u201d problem.<\/p>\n \u201cIf this is the tenth time someone\u2019s been really careless, that\u2019s one thing \u2013 but there is a real problem with getting the right people in the right roles, and performance,\u201d Rowland said. \u201cSo they have to think about how they get their processes right.\u201d<\/p>\n skip past newsletter promotion<\/p>\n Our morning email breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what\u2019s happening and why it matters<\/p>\n Privacy Notice: <\/strong>Newsletters may contain information about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. If you do not have an account, we will create a guest account for you on theguardian.com to send you this newsletter. You can complete full registration at any time. For more information about how we use your data see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.<\/span><\/p>\n after newsletter promotion<\/p>\n <\/span>More women in their 20s and 30s are choosing to have facelifts. <\/span> Photograph: AndreyPopov\/Getty Images<\/p>\n Cut-price medical tourism and \u201cfiller fatigue\u201d are just a couple of the reasons that a growing number of women are having facelifts in their 20s and 30s<\/strong>. Kate McCusker\u2019s deep dive into the trend is a startling read. Lucinda Everett, newsletters team<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/li>\n Ahead of Wednesday\u2019s elections in the Netherlands<\/strong>, Cas Mudde has a great piece about how the success of Geert Wilders has normalised the far right there \u2013 with future alliances ruled out \u201cnot because of Wilders\u2019 anti-constitutional ideology but for his \u2018immature\u2019 and \u2018irresponsible\u2019 behaviour\u201d. Archie<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/li>\n I enjoyed Cas Holman\u2019s piece about how US protests are becoming more playful<\/strong> \u2013 not because Americans are any less serious about defending their rights, but because play helps people stay \u201cagile amid the unknowns, and resilient through adversity\u201d. Lucinda<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/li>\n After Plaid Cymru beat Reform into second place in Caerphilly<\/strong> last week, this Anywhere But Westminster video tells the story of the community spirit that prevailed. Archie<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/li>\n If you missed it yesterday, Anna Moore talked to Caroline Flack\u2019s mother, <\/strong>Christine<\/strong>, about the documentary she has made to help her, and the public, understand what really happened in the lead-up to her daughter\u2019s death by suicide. Lucinda<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n <\/span>Brendan Rodgers.<\/span> Photograph: Pavel Mikheyev\/Reuters<\/p>\n Football<\/strong><\/em> | Brendan Rodgers has resigned as manager of Celtic after a disappointing start to the season, and will be replaced on an interim basis by former boss Martin O\u2019Neill. News of Rodgers\u2019 departure was accompanied by a broadside against him from major shareholder Dermot Desmond, who criticised his \u201cself-serving\u201d behaviour.<\/p>\n Rugby<\/strong><\/em> | George Ford is likely to start at fly-half when England begin their autumn internationals campaign against Australia at Twickenham on Saturday. The Sale Sharks No 10 will come in for Fin Smith, the established first-choice during the Six Nations.<\/p>\n Football<\/strong><\/em> | Sheffield Wednesday could face two further points deductions this season for breaching English Football League regulations, but the administrators of the Championship crisis club are optimistic that there are \u201cfour or five\u201d credible bidders.<\/p>\n <\/span> Photograph: Guardian<\/p>\n \u201cMinisters warned not to scapegoat prison staff over sex offender case\u201d says the Guardian<\/strong>, and while we\u2019re on Channel arrivals the Times<\/strong> has \u201cSmall boat migrants to be housed in barracks\u201d. The Financial Times\u2019<\/strong> lead is \u201cReeves\u2019 budget sums face \u00a320bn blow from steeper productivity downgrade\u201d and the i paper<\/strong> also covers the contents of the red box: \u201cBigger tax hikes and spending cuts on way in crunch budget, Reeves signals\u201d. So too the Mail<\/strong>, worrying as ever for the average punter: \u201cThreat of a mansion tax sparks house market chaos\u201d \u2013 a levy on homes over \u00a32m has not been ruled out. Top story in the Mirror<\/strong> is \u201c\u00a310m slap in the face\u201d, about Michelle Mone (of PPE Medpro infamy) and a flat in Florida. The Express<\/strong> has \u201cGrooming gang probe \u2018rigged from the start\u2019\u201d. Outside politics the Telegraph<\/strong> runs with \u201cNHS to offer same-day prostate cancer test\u201d. A positive health story in the Metro<\/strong> too: \u201cNHS printed me a new face\u201d.<\/p>\n <\/span>A Waymo-branded robotaxi in Austin, Texas.<\/span> Photograph: ZUMA Press, Inc.\/Alamy<\/p>\n Is London ready for driverless taxis?<\/strong><\/p>\n Autonomous cabs are a staple in some US cities \u2013 but how will they cope with London\u2019s streets? Gwyn Topham<\/strong> and Johana Bhuiyan<\/strong> report<\/p>\n <\/span> Illustration: Ben Jennings\/The Guardian<\/p>\n A bit of good news to remind you that the world\u2019s not all bad<\/em><\/p>\n <\/span>A collection kit from California-based startup NextGen Jane. <\/span> Photograph: Courtesy of NextGen Jane<\/p>\n \u201cBlokes cringe if you talk about it in the pub \u2026 [yet] menstrual fluid has so much potential,\u201d says medical researcher Caroline Gargett. So much potential that some are wondering if it could be \u201cthe most overlooked opportunity\u201d in women\u2019s health.<\/p>\n To that end, several largely female-led \u201cfemtech\u201d startups and a handful of academic research teams are looking at how period blood \u2013 collected non-invasively \u2013 can be used to help test for a range of women\u2019s health conditions, including endometriosis, traditionally diagnosed through surgery.<\/p>\n Much of the research focuses on using menstrual effluent to help diagnose gynaecological and reproduction health conditions. It also might be used to screen for cancers, track hormones and monitor diabetes, and one group is investigating its potential in stem cell research. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology, meanwhile, is so interested in the area that it has launched a $10m menstruation science initiative in early 2025. As MIT\u2019s Linda Griffith put it: \u201cThis is frontier science.\u201d<\/p>\n Sign up here for a weekly roundup of The Upside, sent to you every Sunday<\/strong><\/p>\n And finally, the Guardian\u2019s puzzles are here to keep you entertained throughout the day. Until tomorrow.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Good morning. Maybe the most gobsmacking detail about the accidental release of Hadush Kebatu from HMP Chelmsford was this, from a delivery driver who was delivering equipment to the prison as he left: Kebatu, who was serving a sentence for sexual assault and was due to be deported, appeared baffled as he walked free, and<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":31019,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[56],"tags":[1043,187,18052,18053,18051,2798,2413,2414,284,572,745,6538],"class_list":{"0":"post-31018","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-crime-justice","8":"tag-briefing","9":"tag-crisis","10":"tag-hadush","11":"tag-kebatu","12":"tag-mistaken","13":"tag-prison","14":"tag-prisons","15":"tag-probation","16":"tag-release","17":"tag-reveals","18":"tag-service","19":"tag-tuesday"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31018","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=31018"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31018\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/31019"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=31018"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=31018"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=31018"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Five big stories<\/h2>\n
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In depth: \u2018There\u2019s a sense that everything is breaking \u2013 it\u2019s a slow-motion collapse\u2019<\/h2>\n
What else we\u2019ve been reading<\/h2>\n
\n
Sport<\/h2>\n
The front pages<\/h2>\n
Today in Focus<\/h2>\n
Cartoon of the day | Ben Jennings<\/h2>\n
The Upside<\/h2>\n
Bored at work?<\/h2>\n