Starmer Condemns Government for Wasting Billions on Empty Asylum Hotels

Prime Minister Keir Starmer has condemned the handling of asylum accommodation spending amid a wider outcry over costly hotel use and state failures spotlighted by the mistaken release of Hadush Kebatu.

“The news article reports on a case that had previously sparked anti-migrant protests”

cedarnews

Sky News reports the soaring cost of housing migrants in asylum hotels, which has jumped from £4.5 billion to £15.3 billion after chaotic and expensive contracts.

The Economic Times

Fox News says the case has intensified criticism of the UK’s costly use of hotels to house asylum seekers, with officials pushing to close such sites.

The Kebatu incident triggered protests and a manhunt.

The Mirror notes demonstrations at hotels housing asylum seekers across the country, as Starmer condemned the release as totally unacceptable, according to ABC News.

The London Evening Standard adds that the episode has provoked growing criticism of government officials overseeing justice and immigration policies.

Cost scrutiny now sits at the center of the debate.

Sky News says asylum-hotel spending ballooned from £4.5 billion to £15.3 billion, criticizing procurement as chaotic and expensive.

Daily Mail

Fox News reports that the controversy has intensified criticism of hotel use, with ministers pushing alternatives.

Context from the BBC shows small-boat arrivals are a minority of overall immigration, with 6,400 small boat arrivals making up 39% of the UK’s 111,984 asylum claims.

The BBC also notes nearly 948,000 arrivals in 2024 are expected to stay at least a year.

The Daily Express states small boats are only 4% of overall UK immigration in 2024, yet more than 80% of unauthorized arrivals.

Together, these figures highlight why pouring billions into hotels faces growing political and public scrutiny.

Public safety concerns intensified the financial controversy surrounding the case.

“A prisoner, Hadush Kebatu, was mistakenly released from HMP Chelmsford despite multiple levels of paperwork checks by senior staff”

Daily Mail

ITVX reports that Hadush Kebatu, a 38-year-old Ethiopian asylum seeker and convicted sex offender, was serving 12 months for assaulting a 14-year-old.

He was mistakenly released instead of being transferred to an immigration detention center.

ABC News states that Kebatu was spotted boarding a train, which triggered an urgent manhunt.

The Independent adds that he traveled to London by train, prompting police action supported by the government.

Manx Radio reports that multiple police forces joined the search.

Leaders including Starmer and Justice Secretary David Lammy condemned the error and called for Kebatu’s swift recapture and deportation.

Your Harlow highlights local outrage following the Bell Hotel incident.

Together, these events increased pressure to end reliance on costly hotels and to tighten control measures.

The government response has mixed emphases: immediate operational fixes versus structural change.

LBC reports Justice Secretary David Lammy ordering an urgent review with immediate implementation of stricter checks.

Manchester Evening News

Dame Lynne Owens has been appointed to lead an independent inquiry.

Early releases from HMP Chelmsford have been suspended for a week.

Daily Mail says the error was due to human error despite multiple paperwork checks.

A two-day manhunt took place, and Kebatu was quickly rearrested and set for imminent deportation.

Fox News indicates ministers are pushing to close hotel sites in favor of planned alternatives.

The Ludlow Advertiser describes UK pressure on France to curb small-boat crossings as an upstream effort to reduce hotel demand.

Meanwhile, The Guardian raises welfare risks under the UK–France one in, one out scheme, citing abuse and forced labor faced by a returnee in France.

Important clarification: none of the sources confirm that the asylum hotels are empty.

“The Conservative Party has blamed the Labour government for a serious prison error involving Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu, a 38-year-old Ethiopian asylum seeker serving a 12-month sentence for sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl”

Manchester Evening News

The central, well-sourced critique is about cost, contracts, and reliance on hotels.

London Evening Standard

Sky News documents “soaring cost” and “chaotic and expensive” contracting.

Fox News reports political pressure to close hotel sites.

Birmingham Live notes Kebatu was “found living in a hotel for asylum seekers.”

The Mirror reports protests “at hotels housing asylum seekers,” both indicating occupancy.

The BBC situates the hotel debate within wider migration numbers and legal constraints, but does not describe hotels as empty.

Where some rhetoric suggests waste, the evidence provided here is primarily about cost overruns and policy design—not confirmed vacancy.