- Greater Manchester Police (GMP) failed to examine the mobile devices of synagogue attacker Jihad Al-Shamie, which contained evidence of his extremist views, despite seizing them months before his attack.
- Chief constable Sir Stephen Watson expressed deep regret for this 'missed opportunity,' stating that the information on the devices would have inspired further investigative action and apologised for the added distress to victims' families.
- Al-Shamie, 35, was shot dead by police after he targeted a Manchester synagogue on Yom Kippur last year, resulting in the deaths of Melvin Cravitz, 66, and Adrian Daulby, 53.
- The police failure came to light during an internal GMP review, with Sir Stephen confirming the significance of the data was not realised as the devices had not been examined before the attack took place.
- This revelation follows the life sentencing of Mohammad Bashir, an associate of Al-Shamie, who was jailed for planning his own mass attack and had shared extremist content with Al-Shamie, with whom he also conducted a reconnaissance mission.
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