The Ministry of Justice has launched an inquiry after a sex offender was released from a prison in Huntingdonshire a month early.

The prisoner, a Romanian, had reportedly been serving a 30-month sentence at HMP Littlehey, in Perry, for sexually assaulting a girl under the age of 13.

He was scheduled to be released on January 6 but was instead deported last Friday morning, sparking an investigation by officials at the Ministry of Justice.

A spokesman said: “This offender was not released out onto the streets. He was placed in an immigration removal centre before being removed from the country the following day.”

The spokesman added that errors of this nature remained “extremely rare” and added that an investigation was taking place “to establish the circumstances of this particular case”.