Coroner on David Amess’ Murder: ‘Shortcomings’ in Prevent System
Lincoln Brookes, Senior Coroner for Essex, has made public his full decision in response to calls from David Amess’ family for a full inquest into his murder. The murdered MP’s daughter is calling for a full investigation into how his killer managed to fall through the cracks of national security.
While Brookes resolves there is not “sufficient reason to resume an investigation and inquest into Sir David’s death,” his 18-page report details that jihadist terrorist Ali Harbi Ali was known to the Prevent programme after being referred into the scheme in October 2014 by the head of his sixth-form college. He remained in the scheme until 2016, at which point he “went dark” in an attempt to avoid further detection. The coroner makes clear that from this it is “apparent that there were some shortcomings identified in the operation of the Prevent programme.”
Harbi Ali was dropped from the Prevent programme on 4th December 2016:
“The perpetrator had revealed to police in a post-arrest interview that he had dropped out of University (in 2016) to focus on whether to make Jihad. He had bought a knife (the murder weapon) five years earlier and kept it by his bed in case of a burglary or in case Police raided his house for Terrorism offences. He later carried it with him in the community when reconnoitring MP targets… He said that he had initially considered travelling to Syria to join Islamic State but by 2019 he had focussed on domestic Jihad, deciding that a just target would be MPs who voted in favour of air strikes in Syria. He said he had gone to Mike Freer MP’s surgery and that he had also researched Michael Gove MP.”
Brookes adds: “The perpetrator was unknown to Counter Terrorism Policing beyond the period connected with the single Prevent referral… The family point out there has been no public investigation into what the state knew about the killer. That is true.” Despite planning an armed terrorist act for three years Harbi Ali was not known to Counter Terrorism Police.
The Southport attack suspect Axel Muganwa Rudakubana was due in Liverpool Crown Court for a pre-trial preparation hearing on Friday – this did not take place. Relatives of the victims have been told to expect some new guidance from the CPS imminently.
Read the Coroner’s full 18-page report below:
