Government happy to meet Reading attack families

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

A government minister has said he is happy to meet the families of three men stabbed to death in a Reading park.

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

Judge Coroner Sir Adrian Fulford found major problems with intelligence sharing between authorities and said the three deaths were avoidable at an inquest which concluded in April.

Home Office minister Dan Jarvis told the House of Commons he would be happy to meet the victims’ families to discuss changes following Sir Adrian's conclusions.

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

He arrived in the UK in 2012 as a teenage refugee, having fought in the Libyan revolution, and suffered from PTSD, among other conditions.

Paula Barker, the MP representing Gary Furlong's parents, asked what action the government was taking

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

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

Sir Adrian also said if intelligence about the high risk he posed had been shared properly he might have been detained by police.

Paula Barker, Liverpool Wavertree's MP, said Mr Furlong’s father Gary and others were “demanding that [Sir Adrian's conclusions] is not just another report that sits on the shelf gathering dust”.

Saadallah was given a whole-life term in 2021 after admitting murder

Mr Jarvis told her: “Our deepest condolences are with the loved ones of James, Joseph and David following their tragic deaths.

“I can assure [Mrs Barker] and the families that we will do everything in our power to stop this from happening again.

"We will of course be happy to meet the families to discuss changes and of course I would be happy to meet [Mrs Barker] and her constituent [Mr Furlong] to discuss this matter further,” he added.

Saadallah was released from prison on 5 June 2020 and went to live in a flat in Basingstoke Road in Reading before he started preparing the attack.

He visited Forbury Gardens, researched it online and bought a knife in a Morrisons supermarket.

The night before the murders, local officers visited Saadallah after his brother rang police to raise concerns about his mental state.

Body-worn video from the two-minute encounter shows Saadallah reassuring the officers, who asked how he was feeling and if he had enough food.

A carrier bag containing a knife was visible on the floor behind him.

On 20 June, his attack was "ruthless and lethal", prosecutors at his murder trial said.

He attacked his victims so quickly that those who died had no idea what was happening.