Sarah Jones, minister for policing and crime

The minister for policing and crime Sarah Jones has admitted officials’ decision to give a migrant sex offender £500 to leave the UK “sticks in the throat”.

Hadush Kebatu was deported to Ethiopia on Tuesday night, a month after he was found guilty of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl and a woman while he was staying in an asylum hotel in Epping.

Kebatu came over to the UK on a small boat to claim asylum but ended up triggering anti-migrant protests with his crimes.

His case caused further outrage when he was accidentally released from prison last Friday – while still serving his 12-month sentence – prompting a 48-hour manhunt.

After his recapture, five officials accompanied him on his deportation flight – and paid him £500 when he threatened to disrupt his own removal.

The decision was not made by ministers, but by the removal team who made the payment, suspecting the subsequent........

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