Deputy Prime Minister and Justice Secretary David Lammy has vowed that sex offender Hadush Kebatu will be deported “this week” after being accidentally released from prison and spending 45 hours at large in London.

Speaking outside a London Police station, Mr Lammy thanked police for their “fantastic work” after Kebatu was rearrested on Sunday morning.

“I wanted to come down here to thank the officers, they’ve done a brilliant job,” he said. “He’s now back in custody so he can be deported this week.”

Mr Lammy praised the public for responding to the appeal that led to the fugitive’s arrest, adding: “This was totally unacceptable. There will be a full investigation into how this happened.”

When pressed on whether Kebatu would be on tonight’s 8.15pm Heathrow flight back to his home country, Mr Lammy said the offender must first be questioned about his movements across Essex and London.

“It’s right that police get to the bottom of what happened during those 45 hours,” he said. “But I can assure you he will be deported this week.”

He confirmed that one prison officer has been suspended and promised an independent inquiry into the blunder.

“It was a catastrophic failure of the system,” he said.

“We must ensure checks and balances are in place so the public can be reassured this doesn’t happen again.”

He condemned the previous Government for leaving behind what he described as a “collapsing system”, claiming staff shortages and inexperience had made such errors more likely.

He said: “You will know that we inherited a system that was collapsing, in which the previous Government was releasing people early without any scrutiny at all.

“And there are a lot of junior officers now in the prison system. All of that needs a close look to ensure that the public are safe.

“The number one priority is that the public are safe, and certainly that foreign nationals that commit offences who should not be in the country are absolutely deported back to where they are from.

“And that is what should have taken place in this regard. And that’s why it’s been important for me to suspend the particular officer involved, pending that full investigation, and to ensure that the checks are there in Chelmsford and in the system to reassure the public over the coming days.”

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Mr Lammy also addressed the victims of Kebatu’s crimes in Epping, Essex, saying he recognised “the anxiety this has caused”.

“It was important for us to reach out to the victims of Kebatu’s crimes, and I’m grateful to police liaison for doing that over the last 48 hours.

“This will have been an anxious time for the victims of his crime and their families, and I recognize that.

“And, of course, it will have been an anxious time for many women families worried about him roaming the streets of London.

“I’m glad that we have brought that to an end. We must do all we can to continue to keep the public safe.”