(BBC) A senior firefighter said being unable to immediately help those injured in the Manchester Arena bomb represented “probably the worst time in my career.” Watch manager Jon Nolan told the public inquiry into the 2017 attack he was never deployed to […]
(BBC) Fire crews should have gone straight to the Manchester Arena bombing scene rather than a rendezvous point three miles away, a public inquiry has heard. In a debrief, crew manager Nicholas Mottram urged Greater Manchester Fire & Rescue Service (GMFRS) bosses […]
(BBC) Four small boats with 66 people on board have been intercepted by Border Force in the English Channel on Tuesday, the Home Office says. French authorities also stopped 22 migrants in two boats from making the crossing, a government spokesman said. […]
(BBC) A fire officer has told an inquiry he “felt ashamed to be a firefighter” after being held back from responding to the Manchester Arena bombing. The first fire engine did not arrive at the scene until two hours after the explosion […]
(BBC) A man is to face trial over an assault on a security guard at a former barracks where asylum seekers are held. Mohammed Ali, 22, pleaded not guilty at Canterbury Crown Court earlier to three charges over a disturbance at Napier […]
(BBC) Anas Sarwar has been announced as the new Scottish Labour leader. Glasgow MSP Mr Sarwar defeated Monica Lennon, the only other candidate in the race. The contest was triggered after Richard Leonard resigned as leader, saying it was in the best […]
(BBC) New anti-terrorism legislation in memory of a Manchester Arena bombing victim should “protect people and be proportionate,” the justice secretary has said as a consultation is launched. Building on “Martyn’s Law,” the new Protect Duty will require public places and venues […]
(BBC) Shamima Begum, who left the UK for Syria to join the Islamic State group as a teenager, will not be allowed to return and fight her citizenship case, the Supreme Court has ruled. The court said in a unanimous ruling that […]
(BBC) Four boats with 77 people on board have been intercepted as they crossed the English Channel. The Home Office said the incidents took place on Tuesday, with the French authorities not reporting any interceptions in their waters. According to Home Office […]
(BBC) The ambulance service warned a year before the Manchester Arena bombing that lives would be lost if specialist medical help was delayed during a terror attack, an inquiry heard. It took more than two hours to deploy triage teams in a […]
(BBC) A new counter-terrorism plan was issued 10 days before the Manchester Arena attack but it may not have been read by senior officers, an inquiry has heard. Insp Simon Lear from Greater Manchester Police (GMP) was charged with coming up with […]
(BBC) Greater Manchester Police “left after doing their bit” in terror training exercises held prior to the Manchester Arena bombing, an inquiry has heard. Former fire service group manager John Fletcher told the Manchester attack inquiry he had “strong words” with the […]
(BBC) Four small boats with 49 people on board have been intercepted as they crossed the English Channel, the Home Office has confirmed. French authorities, meanwhile, stopped 126 migrants in eight boats from crossing, a government spokesman said. Immigration minister Chris Philp […]
(BBC) Muslim minicab drivers working at Heathrow Airport have described feeling “humiliated” after being forced to pray in a bus stop car park. Drivers said they have prayed on the kerb of the road due to a lack of facilities for more […]
(BBC) A convicted terror offender who was the Manchester Arena bomber’s friend “is unfit to give evidence” to the inquiry into the attack, his lawyer has said. Abdalraouf Abdallah was visited by the bomber Salman Abedi in prison in the months before […]
(BBC) A terror suspect who cut off an electronic monitoring tag and fled his home has pleaded guilty to breaching counter-terror rules. The man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, is a senior member of the banned terrorist group al-Muhajiroun. He […]
(BBC) A senior MI5 officer will be allowed to give evidence anonymously from behind a screen at the public inquiry into the Manchester Arena attack. Families of the 22 people murdered in the 2017 bombing had argued against the move, feeling it […]
(BBC) The victims of the Manchester Arena bombing were denied “vital assistance” because of confusion over the nature of the attack, an inquiry has heard. The Manchester Arena inquiry was told specialist fire responders were not mobilised because police did not share […]
(BBC) A counter-terrorism training drill a year before the Manchester Arena bomb was “quite a disaster,” the head of the inquiry into the attack has suggested. The inquiry into the May 2017 bombing heard a mock terrorist attack highlighted major communication issues […]
(BBC) Five people have been detained on suspicion of making death threats to a French teenager who posted videos critical of Islam, prosecutors say. Mila, 17, had to change schools last year after an Instagram video for her friends in which she […]
(BBC) The UK’s terrorism threat level has been downgraded from “severe” to “substantial.” Home Secretary Priti Patel said the move followed a “significant reduction” in the momentum of attacks in Europe — since those seen in Austria and France between September and […]
(BBC) Police were told of shortcomings in a terror response plan months before the Manchester Arena attack, an inquiry has heard. The police inspectorate warned in November 2016 that “an over-reliance” on the officer in charge of the response could see them […]
(BBC) An Iranian man who steered a group of migrants across the English Channel in a “dangerously overcrowded” small boat has been jailed for two years. Sadrallah Bahador, 35, was picked up by a Border Force vessel from a rigid-hulled inflatable boat […]
(BBC) A man from north London who moved to Syria has appeared in court accused of sharing Islamic State group videos. Stefan Aristidou, 27 and originally from Enfield, is accused of texting videos of beheading and executions. He was arrested at Heathrow […]
(BBC) A counter-terror chief has expressed confusion over why police would declare a marauding terrorist firearms attack and not tell other emergency services, the Manchester Arena inquiry has heard. Operation Plato was declared by a duty officer from Greater Manchester Police some […]
(BBC) Investigating terror attacks like the Manchester bombing can feel like being “repeatedly punched in the face,” a counter-terrorism officer has said. Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu was the UK’s senior national co-ordinator for counter-terrorism at the time of the 2017 atrocity, which […]
(BBC) A fear of seeming rude can prevent criticism of emergency services’ performance, the Manchester Arena inquiry has heard. The probe into the 2017 bombing has been listening to evidence from the Greater Manchester Resilience Forum. It heard a terrorist firearms exercise […]
(BBC) A man accused of assaulting a security guard at a former Kent barracks where asylum seekers are held has appeared in court. Mohammed Ali, 22, was arrested on Friday — the day a fire broke out in one of the accommodation […]
(BBC) Five men have been arrested after a fire at a former barracks where asylum seekers are being held. Kent Police said one man was held on suspicion of assaulting a security guard and four in connection with the fire at Napier […]
(BBC) A fire at a former army barracks housing hundreds of asylum seekers was started deliberately, police have said. Emergency services were sent to Napier Barracks in Folkestone at 14:00 GMT after “reports of a disturbance.” The Home Office said people had […]
(BBC) Seventeen migrants reached the UK after crossing the English Channel on two small boats, the Home Office said. A further 78 people were picked up by the French authorities on Thursday after trying to make the cross-Channel journey on four boats. […]
(BBC) Security errors were made at Manchester Arena before it was attacked, but they had not contributed to the bombing, an inquiry has heard. Showsec’s barrister Jonathan Laidlaw QC told a hearing the security firm had fallen short in some areas at […]
(BBC) A man found with bomb-making manuals and speeches on Islamic State has told a court he is “not a terrorist.” Souhaib Embarek was caught sharing “terrorist tutorials” and had videos and images of terrorist attacks. He admits five charges of possession […]
(BBC) The operator of the Manchester Arena has denied it “deliberately sacrificed safety” in the aftermath of the 2017 bombing. An inquiry has heard how security failures contributed to the arena being unsafe on the night of the attack. Venue operator SMG […]
(BBC) In 2013, Nasser Muthana and Reyaad Khan left their lives in Cardiff to fight for Islamic State in Syria. Three months later Nasser’s younger brother Aseel also went out to join them. I went to sixth-form college with both Nasser and […]
(BBC) A “fatal cocktail” of security failures contributed to Manchester Arena being unsafe on the night it was bombed, the inquiry into the attack has heard. John Cooper QC, representing 12 bereaved families, told a hearing the failures were not “slight or […]
(BBC) A man accused of having explosives, detonators and documents referring to jihad and combat has appeared before Westminster magistrates. Asad Bhatti, charged with terrorism offences, did not enter a plea. The 47-year-old from Redhill, Surrey, was arrested after police raided a […]
(BBC) A man from Surrey has been charged with terrorism offences, Counter Terrorism Policing South East (CTPSE) said. Asad Bhatti, 47, of Holland Close, Redhill, has been charged with two counts of possessing an article for the purpose of terrorism. He has […]
(BBC) The attorney general’s bid to increase the minimum sentence of a Newcastle man who incited a German terror cell to commit mass murder has failed. Lawyers for Suella Braverman argued that Fatah Abdullah’s nine-year minimum term was too lenient. They also […]
(BBC) An Islamic extremist has admitted sharing “terrorist tutorials” and having a stash of bomb and poison-making instructions. Souhaib Embarek, 34, was arrested after firearms officers forced entry into his Bristol home on 9 December 2019. He denied two charges of disseminating […]
(BBC) A convicted terrorist organiser and friend of the Manchester Arena bomber has been returned to prison weeks after being released on licence, the BBC has learned. Abdalraouf Abdallah, 27, was jailed in 2016 after being found guilty of helping people travel […]
(BBC) Fears of an “active shooter” were raised by the ambulance service in the aftermath of the Manchester Arena bomb, the inquiry in the attack has heard. The inquiry was told a call from North West Ambulance Service (NWAS) to fire control […]
(BBC) Two small boats with a total of 36 migrants on board were intercepted while crossing the English Channel on Saturday. It comes as the Home Office said French authorities had stopped 27 people from attempting to make the crossing since Friday […]
(BBC) The Manchester Arena and Parsons Green bombers have been charged with assaulting a prison officer together, the BBC has learned. Hashem Abedi, 23, and Ahmed Hassan, 21, are accused of assaulting an officer in HMP Belmarsh, south London, in May last […]
(BBC) More than 150 migrants arrived in England after attempting to cross the Channel at the weekend. On Saturday, Border Force dealt with 103 people on six boats, while the French authorities stopped three vessels from entering UK waters. One boat, with […]
(BBC) About 30 suspected migrants have been rescued from a small boat “in difficulty” off the East Sussex coast. The coastguard said a report was received that a vessel was in trouble 23 miles south of Beachy Head just after midday. Eastbourne […]
(BBC) The number of migrants reaching the UK by boat was four times greater in 2020 than 2019, official figures show. At least 8,400 people made the crossing in 2020 while last year 1,844 did. Despite freezing temperatures, 33 migrants reached the […]
(BBC) A Libyan man arrested in connection with the Manchester Arena bombing has been awarded £83,000 in damages after his details were published online. Alaedeen Sicri, 26, was held but later released without charge following the attack in 2017 which killed 22 […]
(BBC) A jury inquest will examine the armed police operation that intervened in the Streatham terror attack. Sudesh Amman, 20, was shot dead by a police surveillance team after he went on a daytime stabbing spree on Streatham High Road on 2 […]
(BBC) A man who incited a German terror cell to commit mass murder has had his jail term challenged by the attorney general. Lawyers for Suella Braverman told the Court of Appeal the nine-year minimum term for Fatah Abdullah, from Newcastle, was […]
Thank you for reading Eye on Islamism.