Park stabbing victim's dad wants change assurances

The father of a man murdered in a Reading park wants 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.

Judge coroner Sir Adrian Fulford said their deaths were avoidable and found major problems with intelligence sharing between authorities.

Those authorities said they had worked together to make changes since the spring.

Home Office minister Dan Jarvis told the House of Commons on Monday he was happy to meet the victims’ families.

Mr Furlong said he hoped Mr Jarvis and Home Secretary Yvette Cooper would provide details of lasting changes.

Saadallah was given a whole-life term in 2021 after admitting murder and the attempted murder of three other men.

He arrived in the UK in 2012 as a teenage refugee, having fought in the Libyan revolution, and suffered from PTSD, among other conditions.

He spent years in and out of prison for a range of violent offences, including multiple assaults on police officers and possessing knives.

“There have been fundamental problems and still are fundamental problems in mental health services within prisons," Mr Furlong said.

"People are being released from prison when they’re not actually being treated.

"There’s a problem in how we release people back into society. It is not managed."

While in prison in 2017, authorities noted Saadallah was spending time with notorious Islamist radicaliser Omar Brooks, also known as Abu Izzadeen, a long-time member of the now outlawed group al-Muhajiroun.

“[Saadallah] had come here as a 16-year-old and was known to be fighting [in Libya] for eight months and was part of a group called the 17th February Martyrs Brigade," Mr Furlong said.

"And we allowed this man into this country under those circumstances."

Some authorities said Saadallah was “someone else’s problem” while the risks he posed were not managed, he said.

“People put things into place but then don’t check that they’re actually working," he told BBC Radio Berkshire.

"What was clear through this [inquest] process was the people involved were not properly trained - in some cases not trained at all - or the management of the process was very poor and someone was not checking what was actually happening.

“What is the government going to put in place to ensure what they say they are going to do has actually taken place?”

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

"The thing I have always said from the start is when I finally leave this process I want to be able to say to James, Joe and David that I have done everything possible to make things better in their name," he added.

“Their deaths have to count for something and if it saves lives in the future, I will feel justified for the tiredness, because it’s taken its toll on myself and my wife. It’s been very difficult.”

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

"Wholesale changes have been made to the multi-agency public protection arrangements which are in place when people leave prison."

“Much has already been done, but we know that there is still work to do to ensure all the necessary improvements are made. We will not rest until this is complete."

A Berkshire Healthcare NHS Trust spokesperson said it had worked with "all agencies involved to make improvements including better communication and engagement".

In a response to Sir Adrian in September, Ms Cooper said she was "committed to treat any failures with the utmost seriousness and oversee the proper implementation of recommendations and commitments".

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