Family of man set alight near mosque want answers

Mohammed Rayaz had kept a beard for 20 years before it was burnt off in the attack

Warning: This story contains a graphic image of a victim with serious burns.

The son of an elderly man who was doused in petrol and set alight near a mosque has questioned whether his attacker should have even been in the UK.

Mohammed Abbkr, originally from Sudan and has schizophrenia, was given a hospital order after targeting Hashi Odowa, 82, and Mohammed Rayaz, 72, during attacks in London and Birmingham last year.

Mohammed Ayaz, the son of Mr Rayaz, said he wanted to know if adequate checks were done before Abbkr, 29, was granted leave to remain in the country.

The Home Office said asylum applications were carefully considered on their individual merits.

Abbkr was found guilty by majority verdict over the attacks in Ealing and Edgbaston in February and March last year, both of which were captured on CCTV.

The victim's families gave impact statements describing the lasting physical and emotional scars they had been left with.

Mr Ayaz, 38, released the graphic photo of his father's injuries, saying he wanted the public to see what his family had been through, in the hope it might prevent further attacks.

Although counter-terror police were initially involved, the attacks were not treated as terrorism-related.

Multiple psychiatrists later agreed Abbkr, who came to the UK in 2017 and was granted leave to remain in 2019, has paranoid schizophrenia.

Mr Ayaz told the BBC his father's recovery from his physical injuries would take two years, but he had also been suffering from depression and post traumatic stress disorder.

Giving a victim impact statement on Wednesday, he told the court his father had a "beautiful white beard" which he had kept for 20 years before it was burnt off.

Reacting to the sentence on Wednesday, the family of Mr Rayaz said justice had only been partially served, as they felt a prison term would have been more appropriate.

Mr Ayaz explained he wanted to know whether medical checks were conducted before Abbkr was granted leave to remain.

Met Police inquiry questioned

"As a family, we still believe that many questions still need answering by the government and the Home Office," he said.

The son also questioned the effectiveness of the Metropolitan Police investigation and asked why Abbkr had not been caught after the first attack.

"I think West Midlands Police and the counter terrorism unit did a fantastic job in capturing the defendant [but if] London police captured [him] after the Ealing attack then maybe after four weeks, he would not have carried out the Birmingham attack," he said.

Mr Ayaz also called for the government to look at how it could protect places of worship and deter people from committing acts of violence.

"We as a family had never thought something like this would ever happen to us," he added.

The family of Mohammed Rayaz, who was targeted outside a Birmingham mosque, released the image of his horrific injuries in a bid to deter other attacks

A Home Office spokesperson said asylum applications were decided in accordance with immigration rules.

"It is a matter of longstanding government policy that we do not comment on individual cases," they said.

Mohammed Abbkr was sentenced to an indefinite hospital order

Det Ch Insp Andy Jackson, from the Metropolitan Police, said his investigation had been peer-reviewed by a detective superintendent from a different borough command unit, to identify any missed opportunities or lessons to be learned.

"The conclusion of that report found that it was an effective investigation, that led to the relatively swift recovery of a good image of the suspect, that was promptly circulated both internally and externally," the officer said.

"No obvious missed opportunities were identified that could have led to the early identification of the suspect."