THE FAMILIES of the victims of a terrorist attack in a Reading park in June 2020 say the inquest has finally given them answers.
Khairi Saadallah murdered three people, James Furlong, 36, a history teacher at The Holt School in Wokingham; David Wails, 49, a scientist; and Joseph Ritchie-Bennett, 39, an American pharmaceutical worker, and injured three others as they enjoyed the early summer sunshine in Forbury Gardens.
Their attacker has since been given a whole-life jail sentence in January 2021, but the conclusions of a review into the circumstances of the attack have waited until now.
Over the past six weeks, Judge Sir Adrian Fulford held the investigation at The Old Bailey.
On Friday, April 26, he released his verdict, setting out the timeline of events showing how Saadallah’s attack could have been prevented had various bodies including the police and social services shared better communication with each other.
Gary Furlong, the father of James, spoke on behalf of his family, and praised Sir Adrian for his “relentless drive” and his leadership.
“We were promised a full and fearless investigation, and we are satisfied that this has been accomplished,” he said. “We stood here outside the Old Bailey over three years ago, after their attacker, Saadallah, was given a whole life sentence for his heinous crimes.
“We stated then that one question remained – how was Saadallah ever in a position to carry out this attack on the Reading public?
“After a long and distressing six-week inquest, we finally have answers.”
He added: “It is clear that there was failure after failure by virtually all State agencies who dealt with Saadallah.
“Our boys did not stand a chance.”
He pointed out that Saadallah had been a fighter for an extremist Islamist group Ansar Al-Sharia, arrested three times for carried a bladed weapon, and jailed five times.
“There were clear warnings of his extremist risk and becoming a ‘lone-wolf’ attacker.
“Despite the information available to them, Counter Terrorism Police failed to appreciate the risk he posed and take adequate action. He was also triaged, and dropped, on four separate occasions by MI5 and Prevent.
“The Home Office admitted that their management of Saadallah had been woeful and they did not explore all opportunities to deport him.”
Mr Furlong said the family had sat in court “demoralised, bewildered and disillusioned by the agencies’ failure to effectively communicate” and there had been “repeated missed opportunities” to prevent the attack.
“We cannot change what has happened to the boys, but we wish that the outcome of this Inquest leads to positive reform,” he continued.
“We must try and find a way to live our lives without James. The pain of his loss, under such horrific circumstances, is with his family, friends and former colleagues and students, forever.”
The brother of David, Andrew Wails, called Saadallah ‘cowardly’ for the murdering the three men by approaching them from behind, saying they had no chance to defend themselves.
He also said the police and healthcare services had let the families down: “Their failure to prevent this attack has destroyed our lives.
“I am grateful that they have had to account for their failings through this inquest process, and I am grateful to the Judge Coroner for recognising in his conclusion today that the State could have prevented David, James and Joe’s murders.”
He continued: “When I told my mother that David was dead, she screamed, ‘not my David’.
“Next time it could be your David, your James, or your Joe, if your State does not accept the Judge Coroner’s findings and implement change. If nothing is done, my fear is that there will be other families standing where we are now, raising the same concerns while grieving for the avoidable loss of their loved ones.
“The failings of the State exposed by this inquest sicken and disgust me.
“I will never forgive and never forget the pain and suffering inflicted on David and my family, which we will have to endure for the rest of our lives.
“RIP David, James and Joe, we love and miss you always.”
Some of the immediate family of Joseph Ritchie-Bennett live in the United States, and Mr Wails said they were present “in spirit”.
Leigh Day represented the families throughout the legal process.
The law firm’s partner Benjamin Burrows said the families had had to wait four years “with enormous resolve and patience” to know if the terror attack could have been prevented.
The results of the inquest finding that the state agencies could have prevented the attacks meant the families had a day of “very mixed emotions”.
“The Judge Coroner’s clear finding that the loss of their loved ones was preventable is important not only in giving answers to the families we represent, but also in making sure that the same failings do not repeat themselves.
“It is now up to the relevant state agencies to show that lessons have been learnt from this, and that similar events with such tragic consequences can be prevented from happening in the future.”
He added: “The evidence painted a picture of none of these agencies wanting to take the overall lead in managing the complex individual who killed our clients’ loved ones, instead doing their utmost to shift the responsibility on to others.”
Mr Wails wanted to know what will happen as a result of the inquest’s findings, to avoid any similar tragedies.
“There were repeated missed opportunities to prevent this attack from taking place,” he said.
“Our objective from the beginning of this process has been to do all we can to prevent any further similar tragedies. We cannot carry on listening to agencies saying, ‘lessons will be learnt’. What we now need to hear is ‘what actions will be taken’ by the Government and agencies involved.
“We cannot change what has happened to the boys, but we wish that the outcome of this Inquest leads to positive reform.”
