David Amess was murdered by ISIS fanatic Ali Harbi Ali (Image: PA)
The daughter of murdered MP Sir David Amess accused the authorities of “utter stupidity” after a review found vital chances to stop ISIS fanatic Ali Harbi Ali were missed.
Sir David was stabbed to death by the terrorist during a constituency surgery at a church hall in Leigh-on-Sea, Essex, in October 2021.
The killer, who was given a whole-life sentence in 2022, had become radicalised by ISIS propaganda and had been referred to the anti-terror programme Prevent twice before the attack, but his case had been closed.
But a new report, published on Wednesday, revealed he was only seen once by counter-terrorism officials.
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Sir David Amess, who was stabbed during a constituency meeting in Essex (Image: PA)
And they failed to address his underlying problems. Reviewers found Ali believed music and university loan were against Islamic law.
Sir David’s daughter, Katie Amess, said she was disappointed with the contents of the review, adding: “What you will see is utter stupidity by the authorities and non-accountability.
“This is just a piece of paper. It doesn’t mean anything. It’s not an inquiry, and I won’t accept it as the government saying they did help us. I want an inquiry. I want answers and I want accountability.”
Security minister Dan Jarvis told MPs Ali’s case was closed too early and some of Prevent’s assessments were “problematic”.
Ali was first referred to Prevent by his school in October 2014, amid concerns over a change in his behaviour.
The learning review found that he “was an engaging student who had performed well at school and appeared to have a bright future”, but then “his demeanour, appearance and behaviour changed during his final two years at school”.
The review stated: “His form of dress changed from Western to what has been described as “Islamic”.
“His engagement and demeanour changed, and ultimately, he performed poorly in his A- Levels.”
A month after the Prevent referral, in November 2014, he was moved on to the next stage of the anti-radicalisation scheme, Channel, working with experts in Islamist extremism. By April 2015 he had exited Channel, when his risk of terrorism was assessed to be low.
One year later, he was again assessed as part of a police review and again his risk was found to be low, and his case was closed.
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp raised concerns about how Prevent operates and suggested it is “under engaging those with Islamist ideologies”.
He told the Commons: “Since 1999, 94 out of 101 murders committed by terrorists in the United Kingdom were committed by Islamist terrorists, 94%.
“And yet for the most recent figures available only 13% of the Prevent caseload relates to Islamist extremism, which suggests on the face of it quite strongly that Prevent is under engaging those with Islamist ideologies who go on to commit these serious offences.”
Mr Philp said the Independent Review of Prevent by William Shawcross “in part” addressed the issue, adding: “But I think it is so serious and that disparity so stark, I would appreciate the security minister’s views on that and that is a topic a further inquiry might address.”
He went on to raise concerns that the Mental Health Bill as drafted “makes it harder to detain people under the Mental Health Act”, adding he was concerned that it “may inadvertently have adverse implications for public safety”.
Security minister Dan Jarvis, in his reply, said: “The purpose of the Mental Health Act is to ensure that clinicians have the power to detain and treat mentally unwell people who present a risk to themselves or to others. I can tell him that the new Bill will not change that.”
Emergency services raced to the scene after Sir David was attacked (Image: PA)
Mr Jarvis said a number of issues would “most likely not be repeated today”.
He told the Commons: “Record keeping was problematic, and the rationale for certain decisions was not explicit. Responsibilities between police and the local authorities were blurred. The tool used for identifying an individual’s vulnerability to radicalisation was outdated.
“The school that made the referral to Prevent should have been involved in discussions to help determine risk and appropriate support.
“And the tasking of the intervention provider was problematic, with a miscommunication leading to only one session being provided instead of two.
“The reviewer then examined how far changes in the Prevent programme since 2016 had addressed these issues. The reviewer recognised the significant changes that had been made to Prevent since the perpetrator was managed, in particular the introduction of the statutory Prevent and Channel duties, under the Counter-Terrorism and Security Act of 2015.
“The reviewer concluded that over the intervening period, there have been considerable changes to policy and guidance for both the police and the wider Prevent arena, including Channel.
“Whilst a number of the issues in the perpetrator’s case would most likely not be repeated today, there were still a number of areas which could be considered as requiring further work in order to mitigate against future failures.”