Victim’s father seeks assurance of change

The father of a man killed in a Reading park is seeking assurances from the Home Secretary that any changes to prevent further attacks will be properly implemented.

Gary Furlong’s son James, David Wails and Joe Ritchie-Bennett were stabbed to death by Khairi Saadallah in Forbury Gardens in June 2020.

Coroner Sir Adrian Fulford He said their deaths were preventable. and found that there were major problems in intelligence sharing among officials.

These officials said they have been working together since the spring to make changes.

Home Secretary Dan Jarvis spoke in the House of Commons on Monday HE He was happy to meet the families of the victims.

Mr Furlong said he hoped Mr Jarvis and Home Affairs Minister Yvette Cooper would provide detailed information on permanent changes.

Saadallah was given a life sentence in 2021 after admitting murder and the attempted murder of three other people.

He arrived in the UK as a teenage refugee in 2012, fighting in the Libyan revolution and suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, among other conditions.

He spent years in and out of prison for various violent crimesincluding multiple assaults on police officers and possession of knives.

“There were, and still are, fundamental problems with mental health services in prisons,” Mr. Furlong said.

“People leave prison without treatment.

“There’s a problem with the way we integrate people back into society. It’s not being managed.”

Authorities noted that while in prison in 2017, Saadallah spent time with notorious Islamic radicalist Omar Brooks, also known as Abu Izzadin, a longtime member of the now-outlawed al-Muhajiroun group.

“(Saadallah) came here when he was 16 and was known to have been fighting (in Libya) for eight months and was part of a group called the February 17 Martyrs Brigade,” Furlong said.

“And under these circumstances we allowed this man into this country.”

Some officials said Saadallah was “someone else’s problem” but the risks he posed were not being managed.

“People put things in place but then they don’t check whether they actually work,” he told BBC Radio Berkshire.

“What was clear through this (investigation) process was that the people involved were not properly trained – in some cases not trained at all – or the management of the process was so poor that someone did not check what actually happened.

“What will the government implement to ensure that what it says it will do actually happens?”

Mr Furlong said he had read more than 1,000 statements about the attack.

“What I’ve always said from the beginning is that when I finally walk away from this process, I want to be able to tell James, Joe and David that I did everything possible to make things better for them,” he added.

“Their deaths must mean something, and if it saves lives in the future, I will feel that this exhaustion is justified because it hurt me and my wife. “It was very difficult.”

Deputy Chief Tim Metcalfe of Thames Valley Police, who also leads Counter Terrorism Police South East (CTPSE), said improvements had been made.

“There have been wholesale changes to the multi-agency public protection arrangements that are in place when people leave prison.”

“Much has been done, but we know there is still work to be done to ensure all necessary improvements are made. We will not rest until this is completed.”

A spokesman for Berkshire Healthcare NHS Trust said it was working “with all relevant bodies to make improvements, including better communication and engagement”.

Inside A reply to Sir Adrian in SeptemberMs Cooper said she was “committed to treating any failures with the utmost seriousness and to monitoring the correct implementation of recommendations and commitments”.