Latest news with #AliHarbiAli
Channel 4
18-07-2025
- Politics
- Channel 4
Government is ‘picking and choosing' who it helps
In 2021, an Islamic State supporter murdered the MP Sir David Amess at a constituency surgery in Leigh-on-Sea in 2021. Ali Harbi Ali's teachers had flagged to police that he was potentially dangerous, and the Prevent counter-terrorism scheme sent a mentor to meet the teenager seven years earlier. But the mentor only had one meeting with him and his case was closed. A review into Prevent this week found it could have missed chances to turn Harbi Ali away from terrorism. We spoke to Sir David Amess's daughter, Katie Amess.
The Independent
17-07-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Daughter of murdered MP criticises Prevent report and reiterates inquiry calls
The daughter of murdered MP Sir David Amess has reiterated her calls for a public inquiry as she criticised a report into Prevent's contact with her father's killer, saying the review 'tells us there were failures but does not say why'. Katie Amess told the PA news agency the 'vast majority of our questions about Prevent's failures remain unanswered' and that an inquiry was the only way to ensure 'real accountability'. The report compiled by Independent Prevent Commissioner David Anderson KC said 'intensive' efforts have been made to improve processes within Prevent, but the 'jury is out' on some of the changes. It also said Sir David's killer, Ali Harbi Ali, was described as a 'great person' by a counter-terrorism case officer shortly before his case was dropped by Prevent. Ali was referred to the counter-extremism scheme seven years before the so-called Islamic State fanatic stabbed the veteran MP at his constituency surgery in Essex in October 2021. He was sentenced to a whole-life order the following year. Following the report's publication, Ms Amess told PA: 'Having been ambushed by the Home Secretary and given no time at all to have advance sight of Lord Anderson's report, I have now had the opportunity to read it, digest it, and take advice from my team on what it says and what the implications are. 'There is now no doubt whatsoever, following Lord Anderson's work, that there must be a full public inquiry into why the string of failures that led to my dad's murder were allowed to happen, who was responsible, who is going to be held to account, and what is going to be done to ensure there is no repeat. 'We were told after my dad's death that lessons had been, and would be, learned by Prevent. And then, heartbreakingly, Southport happened three years later. 'The two cases are virtually identical. No lessons were ever learned.' Ms Amess said the report 'tells us there were failures but does not say why' as she criticised the way his family had been treated by the Government. She said: 'When we met with the Prime Minister and Home Secretary in March to repeat our call for a public inquiry into my father's murder, they asked my mother and me to go away and work with Lord Anderson to see if he could answer the dozens of questions we still have about why the killer slipped through the state's safeguarding nets. 'Against our better judgment, we did just that and have been patiently waiting for his report to be published, enduring several more months of needless stress and anxiety for our family. 'It feels to us that they are treating us, but more importantly, my dad, who served this country selflessly for 40 years, like dirt on the bottom of their shoes. 'They claimed to be his friends. They attended his funeral. That is not how friends behave. 'As we can all now see, that was a waste of time. This was not a review into why my dad was allowed to be murdered at all. It tells us there were failures but does not say why.' Ms Amess continued: 'My family and I remain deeply committed to understanding how the Prevent programme failed to stop the individual who took my father's life. 'We are determined to ensure that no other family has to endure such a loss due to systemic failings. 'Despite Lord Anderson's review, the vast majority of our questions about Prevent's failures remain unanswered. 'We still do not know why basic checks like social media monitoring or verifying school attendance were not carried out before the perpetrator was released from the programme. He was meant to have seven sessions. He had one, over a cup of coffee at McDonald's, and was then released. 'That is simply not good enough, yet Anderson skates over it as if it did not lead to the catastrophic consequences that followed for my family and our country.' Ms Amess called on the Home Secretary and Prime Minister to 'do the right thing and order the inquiry', saying it would ensure 'real accountability'. She told PA: 'A statutory public inquiry is the only way to compel witnesses to testify and documents to be disclosed. 'When we met with Chris Philp, he told us that if he becomes home secretary in any future government, he will order the inquiry. He knows it is necessary. 'On behalf of my family, I now call on the current Home Secretary and Prime Minister to do the right thing and order the inquiry, just as they rightly did for Southport. 'They told my mother and me that we could come back to them if we were not happy with Anderson. Well, we aren't, and I will be asking my team to write to them to request that further meeting they promised us. 'A public inquiry would honour my father's legacy by ensuring real accountability and preventing future tragedies.'
Yahoo
17-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Daughter of murdered MP criticises Prevent report and reiterates inquiry calls
The daughter of murdered MP Sir David Amess has reiterated her calls for a public inquiry as she criticised a report into Prevent's contact with her father's killer, saying the review 'tells us there were failures but does not say why'. Katie Amess told the PA news agency the 'vast majority of our questions about Prevent's failures remain unanswered' and that an inquiry was the only way to ensure 'real accountability'. The report compiled by Independent Prevent Commissioner David Anderson KC said 'intensive' efforts have been made to improve processes within Prevent, but the 'jury is out' on some of the changes. It also said Sir David's killer, Ali Harbi Ali, was described as a 'great person' by a counter-terrorism case officer shortly before his case was dropped by Prevent. Ali was referred to the counter-extremism scheme seven years before the so-called Islamic State fanatic stabbed the veteran MP at his constituency surgery in Essex in October 2021. He was sentenced to a whole-life order the following year. Following the report's publication, Ms Amess told PA: 'Having been ambushed by the Home Secretary and given no time at all to have advance sight of Lord Anderson's report, I have now had the opportunity to read it, digest it, and take advice from my team on what it says and what the implications are. 'There is now no doubt whatsoever, following Lord Anderson's work, that there must be a full public inquiry into why the string of failures that led to my dad's murder were allowed to happen, who was responsible, who is going to be held to account, and what is going to be done to ensure there is no repeat. 'We were told after my dad's death that lessons had been, and would be, learned by Prevent. And then, heartbreakingly, Southport happened three years later. 'The two cases are virtually identical. No lessons were ever learned.' Ms Amess said the report 'tells us there were failures but does not say why' as she criticised the way his family had been treated by the Government. She said: 'When we met with the Prime Minister and Home Secretary in March to repeat our call for a public inquiry into my father's murder, they asked my mother and me to go away and work with Lord Anderson to see if he could answer the dozens of questions we still have about why the killer slipped through the state's safeguarding nets. 'Against our better judgment, we did just that and have been patiently waiting for his report to be published, enduring several more months of needless stress and anxiety for our family. 'It feels to us that they are treating us, but more importantly, my dad, who served this country selflessly for 40 years, like dirt on the bottom of their shoes. 'They claimed to be his friends. They attended his funeral. That is not how friends behave. 'As we can all now see, that was a waste of time. This was not a review into why my dad was allowed to be murdered at all. It tells us there were failures but does not say why.' Ms Amess continued: 'My family and I remain deeply committed to understanding how the Prevent programme failed to stop the individual who took my father's life. 'We are determined to ensure that no other family has to endure such a loss due to systemic failings. 'Despite Lord Anderson's review, the vast majority of our questions about Prevent's failures remain unanswered. 'We still do not know why basic checks like social media monitoring or verifying school attendance were not carried out before the perpetrator was released from the programme. He was meant to have seven sessions. He had one, over a cup of coffee at McDonald's, and was then released. 'That is simply not good enough, yet Anderson skates over it as if it did not lead to the catastrophic consequences that followed for my family and our country.' Ms Amess called on the Home Secretary and Prime Minister to 'do the right thing and order the inquiry', saying it would ensure 'real accountability'. She told PA: 'A statutory public inquiry is the only way to compel witnesses to testify and documents to be disclosed. 'When we met with Chris Philp, he told us that if he becomes home secretary in any future government, he will order the inquiry. He knows it is necessary. 'On behalf of my family, I now call on the current Home Secretary and Prime Minister to do the right thing and order the inquiry, just as they rightly did for Southport. 'They told my mother and me that we could come back to them if we were not happy with Anderson. Well, we aren't, and I will be asking my team to write to them to request that further meeting they promised us. 'A public inquiry would honour my father's legacy by ensuring real accountability and preventing future tragedies.' The Home Office has been contacted for comment.
The Independent
17-07-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Murdered MP's daughter criticises Prevent report and reiterates inquiry calls
The daughter of murdered MP Sir David Amess has reiterated her calls for a public inquiry as she criticised a report into Prevent's contact with her father's killer, saying the review 'tells us there were failures but does not say why'. Katie Amess told the PA news agency the 'vast majority of our questions about Prevent's failures remain unanswered' and that an inquiry was the only way to ensure 'real accountability'. The report compiled by Independent Prevent Commissioner David Anderson KC said 'intensive' efforts have been made to improve processes within Prevent, but the 'jury is out' on some of the changes. It also said Sir David's killer, Ali Harbi Ali, was described as a 'great person' by a counter-terrorism case officer shortly before his case was dropped by Prevent. Ali was referred to the counter-extremism scheme seven years before the so-called Islamic State fanatic stabbed the veteran MP at his constituency surgery in Essex in October 2021. He was sentenced to a whole-life order the following year. Following the report's publication, Ms Amess told PA: 'Having been ambushed by the Home Secretary and given no time at all to have advance sight of Lord Anderson's report, I have now had the opportunity to read it, digest it, and take advice from my team on what it says and what the implications are. 'There is now no doubt whatsoever, following Lord Anderson's work, that there must be a full public inquiry into why the string of failures that led to my dad's murder were allowed to happen, who was responsible, who is going to be held to account, and what is going to be done to ensure there is no repeat. 'We were told after my dad's death that lessons had been, and would be, learned by Prevent. And then, heartbreakingly, Southport happened three years later. 'The two cases are virtually identical. No lessons were ever learned.' Ms Amess said the report 'tells us there were failures but does not say why' as she criticised the way his family had been treated by the Government. She said: 'When we met with the Prime Minister and Home Secretary in March to repeat our call for a public inquiry into my father's murder, they asked my mother and me to go away and work with Lord Anderson to see if he could answer the dozens of questions we still have about why the killer slipped through the state's safeguarding nets. 'Against our better judgment, we did just that and have been patiently waiting for his report to be published, enduring several more months of needless stress and anxiety for our family. 'It feels to us that they are treating us, but more importantly, my dad, who served this country selflessly for 40 years, like dirt on the bottom of their shoes. 'They claimed to be his friends. They attended his funeral. That is not how friends behave. 'As we can all now see, that was a waste of time. This was not a review into why my dad was allowed to be murdered at all. It tells us there were failures but does not say why.' Ms Amess continued: 'My family and I remain deeply committed to understanding how the Prevent programme failed to stop the individual who took my father's life. 'We are determined to ensure that no other family has to endure such a loss due to systemic failings. 'Despite Lord Anderson's review, the vast majority of our questions about Prevent's failures remain unanswered. 'We still do not know why basic checks like social media monitoring or verifying school attendance were not carried out before the perpetrator was released from the programme. He was meant to have seven sessions. He had one, over a cup of coffee at McDonald's, and was then released. 'That is simply not good enough, yet Anderson skates over it as if it did not lead to the catastrophic consequences that followed for my family and our country.' Ms Amess called on the Home Secretary and Prime Minister to 'do the right thing and order the inquiry', saying it would ensure 'real accountability'. She told PA: 'A statutory public inquiry is the only way to compel witnesses to testify and documents to be disclosed. 'When we met with Chris Philp, he told us that if he becomes home secretary in any future government, he will order the inquiry. He knows it is necessary. 'On behalf of my family, I now call on the current Home Secretary and Prime Minister to do the right thing and order the inquiry, just as they rightly did for Southport. 'They told my mother and me that we could come back to them if we were not happy with Anderson. Well, we aren't, and I will be asking my team to write to them to request that further meeting they promised us. 'A public inquiry would honour my father's legacy by ensuring real accountability and preventing future tragedies.'
Telegraph
17-07-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
Sir David Amess's killer called ‘great person' by Prevent officials
Sir David Amess' murderer was deemed a 'great person' by counter-terrorism officials after just one meeting, an official review of the Prevent programme has revealed. A new report has warned the Government's flagship counter-terror programme must 'up its game' in the wake of its failure to prevent the Conservative MP's assassination and the Southport attack. Lord Anderson KC, the Government's independent commissioner, has recommended the deradicalisation initiative be extended to those fascinated by extreme violence even if they have no fixed ideology. The review, looking into the cases of Sir David's killer Ali Harbi Ali and Southport murderer Axel Rudakubana, said 'intensive' efforts have since been made to improve processes, but the 'jury is out' on some of the changes. Rudakubana, who murdered three girls in his attack on a Taylor-Swift themed dance class last July, was referred to the scheme three times but his case was dismissed each time over a lack of ideological motive. Harbi Ali was also on Prevent's radar before he stabbed Sir David more than 20 times at his constituency surgery in Leigh-on-Sea, Essex, on October 15 2021. Ali was assessed as a 'Channel' case, a term reserved for those deemed most at risk of radicalisation, and assigned an 'Intervention Provider' in November 2014 to conduct seven one-hour mentoring sessions and produce three reports. The Intervention Provider met Ali for a coffee at a McDonalds in Croydon in January 2015 and deemed him a 'pleasant and informed young man', suggesting in his report 'possibly one more session for clarification'. The official noted that flagged issues concerning Ali's thoughts on music and interest on student loans breaching Islamic Law had been 'dealt with', though he would later concede in 2022 that 'the discussion was not broadened into other aspects of AHA's ideology or beliefs'. Responding to the report the next day, a counterterrorism case officer said 'he seems to be a great person' and asked the official whether an extra PSHE (personal, social, health and economic) lesson would be 'worth it'. Prevent would lose track of Ali after the singular in-person meeting, with comments made by Ali in a police interview later suggesting he had been deceiving Prevent officials. Lord Anderson said: 'AHA was adopted into Channel, but the programme of mentoring that was planned for him was allowed to peter out when it had hardly begun.' Sir David's family said they have been left 'deeply hurt and angered by the utterly dismissive tone' of a letter sent by Yvette Cooper, the Home Secretary, informing them of the details uncovered by the report. Solicitor Chris Walker, who represents the families of the girls killed by Rudakubana, said that opportunities to intervene were lost because referrals to other agencies who could have helped Rudakubana were not followed up. He and the families expect the public inquiry into the atrocity to establish whether a different handling of the case would have led to a different outcome, adding that 'real change needs to come in order to prevent other families going through what my clients face'. 'Lord Anderson is right that lessons must be learnt and we call upon the Government and authorities to ensure they do more than simply paying lip service,' Mr Walker added. Lord Anderson's report said that approaches to understanding organised terrorist activity from the last two decades are 'insufficient' for understanding digital movements of self-radicalised extremists, whose online behaviours are 'increasingly difficult to detect and interpret'. Speaking at the Home Affairs select committee on Tuesday, Lord Anderson said the average age of a person referred to Prevent is now 16 years old, and 40 per cent are aged 11-15 so they are 'dealing here with digital natives'. Lord Anderson detailed that he heard evidence from across the country of a large increase in Prevent referrals in the first quarter of this year following the publicity of Rudakubana's case. He added that reactions to popular Netflix series Adolescence on the theme of 'incels' may have also encouraged more referrals. Some 36 per cent of Prevent referrals concern individuals deemed vulnerable but with no identifiable ideological or terrorism risk, according to figures from 2023-24. A further 19 per cent are deemed extreme Right wing and 18 per cent conflicted. Meanwhile, Islamic extremists account for three quarters of individuals on MI5's 'watchlist' and around two thirds of terrorist prisoners. Government to 'immediately act' The report recommended for a Cabinet Office task force to be set up to explore the possibility of formally connecting Prevent to a broader violence prevention and safeguarding system. It comes as the commissioner for the Commission for Countering Extremism, Robin Simcox, told the Commons' Home Affairs Committee that if Prevent shifted its focus towards taking on more cases of those with interests in extreme violence, it would mean the system 'isn't really a counter-terrorism programme any more'. He told MPs on Tuesday it would be a 'pretty fundamental shift in what Prevent is', adding: 'Prevent better brace itself for an awful lot of referrals.' Ms Cooper said the Government would 'immediately act' on findings made by Lord Anderson. In a written statement, she said Prevent thresholds would be clarified in guidance for front line workers who have a duty to refer individuals to Prevent, so they understand those fascinated with extreme violence or mass casualty attacks should be referred to the counter-terror programme. She said this work would be completed by the end of September. The Home Secretary also said work would continue to look at how Prevent connects with wider violence prevention and safeguarding efforts, and officials would work with tech companies to boost efforts to tackle online radicalisation. Ms Cooper said: 'Whilst we must look immediately at how Prevent works alongside wider safeguarding mechanisms to stop further missed opportunities, we also look forward to the outcome of the first phase of the Southport Public Inquiry, led by Sir Adrian Fulford, which will publish its findings later this year.' Responding to the report, Counter Terrorism Policing (CTP) senior national coordinator for prevent and pursue, Deputy Assistant Commissioner Vicki Evans, added: 'We will now carefully reflect on the report and its recommendations, and continue to work alongside the Government, Security Services, wider policing and other partners to ensure that systems designed to keep the public safe from harm do exactly that.'
