• Make a contribution
  • Get the Print Edition
  • Sign up for our daily newsletter
Wednesday, July 30, 2025
  • Login
Reading Today Online
  • HOME
  • YOUR AREA
    • All
    • Caversham
    • Central Reading
    • East Reading
    • Katesgrove
    • Reading
    • Southcote & Coley
    • Tilehurst & Norcot
    • Whitley

    Royal Berks relocation project gets govt funding

    Man charged with drugs and weapons charges following stabbing of teen in Reading

    Two attacked in Western Elms in early hours of Monday

    Mary scales the 02 in her wheelchair

    Pangbourne Rotary Club celebrates fundraising impact

    State of Play: Sl*ts with Consoles marries unbridled joy and unflinching indictment of videogames

    Reading Buses: ‘Short hop’ journeys between Caversham and central Reading see fare reduction

    Broad Street Beats back at the Mall ahead of Reading Pride

    Thames Hospice welcomes four new trustees ahead of new chair’s instatement

  • COMMUNITY
  • READING FC
  • SPORT
    • All
    • Basketball
    • Football
    • Rugby

    Ross County set value for Reading FC transfer target

    PREDICTIONS: How will Reading FC perform in the 2025/26 League One season?

    Reading West and Mid Berkshire MP Olivia Bailey celebrates Lionesses Euros win at 10 Downing Street

    Reading FC compete with League One clubs to sign striker

    Reading FC star Knibbs set to make Championship move as fee is agreed

    Reading FC confirm new signing as midfielder joins on permanent deal

    Former Reading FC loanee joins rivals

    Reading FC sign German attacker on permanent deal

    Reading and Chelsea legend Kerry Dixon set for Q&A at Purple Turtle

  • ENTERTAINMENT
    • ARTS
    • READING FESTIVAL
    • READING PRIDE
    • WOKINGHAM FESTIVAL
  • PRIDE OF READING
  • OBITUARIES
  • JOBS
  • ADVERTISE
  • CONTACT US
No Result
View All Result
Reading Today Online
No Result
View All Result
Home Featured

FORBURY TERROR ATTACK: Failure to share intelligence meant opportunity to prevent murders missed, says coroner

Phil Creighton by Phil Creighton
Friday, April 26, 2024 7:11 pm
in Featured, Reading
A A
Police at the scene of the Forbury Gardens terorrist attack in June 2020

Police at the scene of the Forbury Gardens terorrist attack in June 2020

Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

THE FORBURY Gardens terrorist attack could have been avoided had authorities worked more closely together, and taken action over a 999 call made by Khairi Saadallah the day before.

In June 2020, three men were murdered in the Reading town centre park.

In 2021, under anti-terror laws, Saadallah admitted the murders and attempted murder of three other people. He was given a whole-life prison sentence.

An inquest into the deaths of James Furlong, David Wails, and Joe Ritchie-Bennett concluded on Friday, April 26, after a six week hearing at the Old Bailey.

Judge Coroner Sir Adrian Fulford concluded there were major problems with intelligence sharing between authorities.

He said of Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust had provided Saadallah with mental health services, but left him a in a catch-22 dilemma: the mental health disorders he was thought to suffer with (PTSD and Personality Disorder) required a patient to demonstrate a lengthy period of stability before treatment was commenced, however they simultaneously failed to provide the care coordination role that would help to achieve that stability.

Related posts

Broad Street Beats returns this summer to celebrate Pride

Royal Berks relocation project gets govt funding

Man charged with drugs and weapons charges following stabbing of teen in Reading

Two attacked in Western Elms in early hours of Monday

They instead sought to characterise him as having social care issues as being the cause of stresses in his life.

The Midlands Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (MPFT) provided mental health services in prison, were also said to have failed to provide Saadallah with therapy, as he was incorrectly labelled as someone who was uninterested in treatment.

Sir Adrian said there was a failure to provide a joined-up approach between the two healthcare providers.

This contributed to Saadallah’s probation officer’s inability to obtain assistance for him upon his release from prison on June 5, 2020, despite his significant psychiatric difficulties and risk of serious violence.

“It is at least possible that the failure to provide long-term therapy, at least from 2016, meant that KS failed to achieve the level of stability that would have avoided him ‘finally (settling) on jihad as the solution to his turmoil’.

Had Saadallah received this, there was a potential to reduce his “aggressivity, impulsivity and substance abuse, along with his offending, between 2015 and 2019”. It would also have recognised he was a risk to the public.

Sir Adrian noted that Saadallah repeatedly indicated over several years he had a terrorist mindset, a capacity to kill and serious psychiatric problems.

There had been failings in inter-agency intelligence and information sharing on this front.

He said this background information should have been shared between the police and probation service. Had this been available, he could have been recalled to prison on June 19, 2020 – after he had made a 999 call threatening to blow himself up and harm others.

Sir Adrian found that he would have been returned to custody that night, thus preventing him from carrying out his attack the following day.

He said the deaths of James, Joe and David: “would probably have been avoided if, first, the mental health services had given greater priority to stabilising KS and securing access to long term psychological therapy. Had they done so it is at least possible that the attack would have been prevented by the reduction of KS’s aggressivity, impulsivity, substance abuse and extremism, although the effect on extremism is more difficult to determine. Second, if his extremist risk had been better analysed, KS would probably then have been recalled to custody on 19 June 2020 meaning these attacks would never have happened”.

As a result, Sir Adrian intends to issue Prevention of Future Deaths reports setting out these concerns to Berkshire Healthcare NHSFT, Midlands Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, The Chief Constable of Thames Valley Police, The Secretary of State for the Home Department and The Secretary of State for Justice within the next three weeks.

Keep up to date by signing up for our daily newsletter

We don’t spam we only send our newsletter to people who have requested it.

Check your inbox or spam folder to confirm your subscription.

Previous Post

‘I’m confident they will stay’: Ruben Selles on out of contract Reading FC players

Next Post

FORBURY TERROR ATTACK: Khairi Saadallah’s life in the UK leading up to his murders

FOLLOW US

POPULAR STORIES

  • Reading FC star Knibbs set to make Championship move as fee is agreed

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Reading FC compete with League One clubs to sign striker

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Former Reading FC striker Andy Carroll joins new club in England after leaving France

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Masked men armed with weapons rob store in Reading

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • League One side set to win race for former Reading FC young star

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0

RDG.Today – which is a Social Enterprise – provides Reading Borough with free, independent news coverage.

If you are able, please support our work

Click Here to Support RDG.Today

ABOUT US

Reading Today is dedicated to providing news online across the whole of the Borough of Reading. It is a Social Enterprise, existing to support the various communities in Reading Borough.

CONTACT US

news@wokinghampaper.co.uk

Reading Today Logo

Keep up to date with our daily newsletter

We don’t spam we only send our newsletter to people that have subscribed

Check your inbox or spam folder to confirm your subscription.

The Wokingham Paper Ltd publications are regulated by IPSO – the Independent Press Standards Organisation.
If you have a complaint about a  The Wokingham Paper Ltd  publication in print or online, you should, in the first instance, contact the publication concerned, email: editor@wokingham.today, or telephone: 0118 327 2662. If it is not resolved to your satisfaction, you should contact IPSO by telephone: 0300 123 2220, or visit its website: www.ipso.co.uk. Members of the public are welcome to contact IPSO at any time if they are not sure how to proceed, or need advice on how to frame a complaint.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • HOME
  • MY AREA
    • Central Reading
    • East Reading
    • Bracknell
    • Calcot
    • Caversham
    • Crowthorne
    • Earley
  • COMMUNITY
  • SPORT
    • Reading FC
    • Football
    • Rugby
    • Basketball
  • ENTERTAINMENT
    • ARTS
    • READING FESTIVAL
    • READING PRIDE
    • WOKINGHAM FESTIVAL
  • PRIDE OF READING
  • OBITUARIES
  • JOBS
  • ADVERTISE
  • CONTACT US
  • SUPPORT US
  • SIGN UP FOR OUR NEWSLETTER
  • WHERE TO GET THE PRINT EDITION

© 2021 - The Wokingham Paper Ltd - All Right Reserved.