Action over park killings to be outlined by July

(L-R) David Wails, Joe Ritchie-Bennett and James Furlong died at the scene of the attack in Forbury Gardens

Authorities whose failures "probably and possibly contributed" to the deaths of three men murdered in a Reading park must outline actions taken or proposed by mid-July.

Khairi Saadallah killed James Furlong, David Wails and Joe Ritchie-Bennett in Forbury Gardens in June 2020.

He was given a whole-life term in 2021 after admitting murder and the attempted murder of three other men.

Last month, Judge Coroner Sir Adrian Fulford concluded the deaths were avoidable.

Saadallah was given a whole-life term in 2021

He found there were major problems with intelligence sharing between authorities and Saadallah’s mental health care provision.

His prevention of future deaths report was published on Thursday and gives the authorities until 15 July to outline what action has been taken or is proposed to be taken.

If no action is proposed, Sir Adrian must be told why.

Those who need to respond include the Home Office, Counter Terrorism Police South East, the Probation Service, NHS England and Berkshire Healthcare NHS Trust.

In the report, Sir Adrian said Saadallah’s “purpose was to advance a terrorist Islamist cause”.

Gary Furlong said the victims "didn't stand a chance" when set upon by Saadallah

But Sir Adrian said none of the counter-terrorism programmes Prevent, Pathfinder and MAPPA “contributed positively” to the handling of Saadallah.

The victims’ families spoke of their grief and anger outside the Old Bailey when Sir Adrian concluded the inquest in April.

James Furlong’s father Gary said the men “didn’t stand a chance” after “failure after failure by all state agencies” who dealt with Saadallah.

He arrived in the UK in 2012 as a teenage refugee, having fought in the Libyan revolution for extremist Islamist militia Ansar al-Sharia, and suffered from PTSD, among other conditions.

He had extensive contact with mental health services, but Sir Adrian said Saadallah was "caught in a catch-22" with no continuity of care.

The judge coroner concluded it was "at least possible" he would never have attacked the men if his mental health had been correctly managed by authorities.

Some of the authorities said action had already been taken ahead of the inquest's conclusion.

Tim Metcalfe, assistant chief constable of Thames Valley Police, said it had an "unrelenting" commitment to learn, change and improve "where required".