M&S knife attacker to be locked up indefinitely

Munawar Hussain stabbed the store manager and a customer because he believed M&S were funding Israel

A man who stabbed two women at a Marks & Spencer store will be locked up indefinitely in a high-security hospital.

Munawar Hussain, 60, attacked the store manager and a customer with a knife in 2020 in Burnley, Lancashire, and also stabbed a male nurse in 2023 in hospital.

He told police he targeted the store because he believed M&S funded Israel to persecute Palestinian people.

A judge at Manchester Crown Court imposed an order which meant only the Justice Secretary can free Hussain.

Greater Manchester Police (GMP), where Counter Terrorism Policing North West is based, said the judge imposed restrictions under the Mental Health Act as it is "considered necessary to protect the public from serious harm".

Hussain, of Burnley, was convicted of two counts of attempted murder and one count of grievous bodily harm.

The manager was wounded in the neck and the customer was stabbed in the arm in the attack on 2 December 2020.

GMP said Hussain was "bravely apprehended" by store security and members of the public, before he was arrested.

Both victims sustained serious injuries requiring extensive medical treatment.

Hussain was remanded in a secure mental health hospital but tried to kill a male nurse with a kitchen knife in June last year while awaiting sentence, police added.

Ch Supt Sarah Kenwright of Counter Terrorism Policing North West said: "These incidents are deeply disturbing and traumatising for all the victims."

She added: "No one should go to their place of work or out shopping and fear for their lives.

"Sadly this has been a reality for three people, who have undoubtedly had their lives changed, both physically and mentally, by Hussain’s actions."