Knife attacker ‘lawfully killed’

A MAN released early from a prison sentence for terror offences who was shot dead by police after going on a stabbing spree, was lawfully killed, an inquest ruled last Friday (20).

But the jury at the Royal Courts of Justice in central London also concluded that the attack could have been prevented if Sudesh Amman had been recalled to prison after buying items used to make a fake suicide belt.

Amman, 20, was shot dead at close range by undercover officers after he stole a knife and injured two members of the public in Streatham, south London, on February 2, 2020.

The knife attack came just months after another man, who was also freed part-way through a prison sentence for terror offences, killed two people in central London.

Both cases forced the UK government to tighten early release rules for serious offenders, including for those found guilty of extremism.

Amman, born in Coventry, and of Sri Lankan descent, was convicted in 2018 of 13 counts of collecting material useful for terrorism and disseminating terrorist publications. He was given a 40-month prison sentence.

A police report compiled before he was freed in January 2020 called him “one of the most dangerous individuals we have investigated” because of his extremist views.

The court was told his behaviour in prison had been increasingly violent. He had wanted to join Daesh (Islamic State), become a suicide bomber and kill the Queen.

Intelligence officers involved in the case said he remained an individual of “great concern” and still a danger to the public.

But even after he was spotted buying items for a fake suicide belt, he was only kept under 24-hour surveillance.

The jury said the probation service “missed an opportunity” to recall him to prison.

Firearms officers defended their use of deadly force after he went on the rampage with a butcher’s knife, saying it prevented a greater tragedy.

The coroner, judge Nicholas Hilliard, said officers “put themselves in harm’s way”.

“They are to be commended for their bravery. They are owed a considerable debt of gratitude...,” he added.

A separate inquest held into the police shooting of Usman Khan also condemned official failings that allowed him to fatally stab two people near London Bridge in November 2019.