'Problematic' assessment of Sir David Amess' killer led to Prevent case being closed 'too quickly', review finds
12 February 2025, 13:35 | Updated: 12 February 2025, 14:21
A "problematic" assessment of Sir David Amess' killer meant his Prevent case was closed "too quickly", a review has found.
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Ali Harbi Ali had been referred to Prevent seven years before he killed the veteran MP on October 15, 2021, but his case was closed in 2016.
There was "questionable decision-making" and "suboptimal" handling of the case, the Prevent Learning Review found.
The Government promised to publish it after the report into Southport killer Axel Rudakubana's handling by the programme was published last week.
Security minister Dan Jarvis told the Commons: "The reviewer found that from the material reviewed, the assessment in terms of the perpetrator's vulnerabilities was problematic, and this ultimately led to questionable decision making and sub-optimal handling of the case during the time he was engaged with Prevent and Channel.
"It identified that the vulnerability assessment framework was not followed with the perpetrator's symptoms being prioritised over addressing the underlying causes of his vulnerabilities.
"The reviewer ultimately found that while Prevent policy and guidance at the time was mostly followed, the case was exited from Prevent too quickly."
Read more: Daughter of murdered MP Sir David Amess demands inquiry for all victims failed by Prevent
He said a number of issues would "most likely not be repeated today".
"Record keeping was problematic, and the rationale for certain decisions was not explicit," he said. "Responsibilities between police and the local authorities were blurred. The tool used for identifying an individual's vulnerability to radicalisation was outdated.
"The school that made the referral to Prevent should have been involved in discussions to help determine risk and appropriate support. And the tasking of the intervention provider was problematic, with a miscommunication leading to only one session being provided instead of two.
"The reviewer then examined how far changes in the Prevent programme since 2016 had addressed these issues.
"The reviewer recognised the significant changes that had been made to Prevent since the perpetrator was managed, in particular the introduction of the statutory Prevent and Channel duties, under the Counter-Terrorism and Security Act of 2015.
"The reviewer concluded that over the intervening period, there have been considerable changes to policy and guidance for both the police and the wider Prevent arena, including Channel.
"Whilst a number of the issues in the perpetrator's case would most likely not be repeated today, there were still a number of areas which could be considered as requiring further work in order to mitigate against future failures."
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has requested to be kept updated on an investigation into a complaint made by Sir David Amess' family on Essex Police's handling of the case, Mr Jarvis said.
"Concerns have been raised by the Amess family about the way in which Essex Police handled this case," he said.
"A complaint has been made and referred back to the local force by the IOPC (Independent Office for Police Conduct) for consideration.
"That process must be allowed to follow its course. However, I can inform the House that the Home Secretary has written to the Chief Constable and the Police and Crime Commissioner of Essex Police, asking them to set out how the investigation will be conducted and to be kept updated as the investigation progresses."
Reacting to the review, head of Counter Terrorism Policing Matt Jukes said: "It is clear from the Prevent Learning Review where the management and handling of Ali Harbi Ali's case in 2014 should have been better.
"The report also acknowledges that by the time of the attack in 2021, significant changes had been made, and more work has been done since then to act upon the review's recommendations.
"Difficult decisions in steering people away from radicalisation continue to be made every day, and with almost 60,000 Prevent referrals in the last decade, we owe it to all those affected, including those making the decisions, to take every opportunity possible to improve the system.
"It is critical that we use reviews such as this to ensure the system works now, and in the future, so that other families are spared the pain felt by the loved ones of Sir David."
The Tories have called for a "more formal inquiry" to examine the handling of Prevent cases and how the mental health system operates.
Shadow home secretary Chris Philp welcomed the publication of the review into the handling of MP Sir David Amess's murderer and that the Prevent Commissioner would conduct a further review.
He told the Commons: "I do think there are questions still relating to this case and others that do merit perhaps a more formal inquiry to make sure we really have got to the bottom of this.
"And there are of course other cases where there are questions around whether perpetrators of violence either encountered Prevent and could have been better identified and interdicted or where they encountered mental health services."
He went on: "It strikes me there are systemic issues, both with the failure of Prevent to identify and stop potential perpetrators and also associated with that the operation of the mental health system and whether more could be done.
"And because these are systemic issues, I do think perhaps a more formal inquiry is merited."
