Reading terror inquest to probe if murders were avoidable

Friends (L-R) David Wails, Joe Ritchie-Bennett and James Furlong had been enjoying a summer's evening

A coroner has said he will "fearlessly" examine whether the state could have prevented the murders of three men during a terrorist attack in a park.

James Furlong, Joe Ritchie-Bennett and David Wails died within minutes of being stabbed by Khairi Saadallah in Forbury Gardens, Reading, in June 2020.

Saadallah was sentenced to a whole-life jail term for their murders.

Coroner Martyn Zeidman KC told a pre-inquest review he wanted to establish what had been known about the killer.

Opening the hearing at the Royal Courts of Justice in London, he said the full inquest would "vigorously" investigate if state agencies had realised the risk Saadallah posed to the public.

Khairi Saadallah admitted three counts of murder and three of attempted murder

He said the focus was likely to be on the "issue of preventability" and emphasise the principal wish of the families that any "lessons shall be learned".

Mr Zeidman added the full inquest would be held in London, rather than in Reading, to try to reduce the emotional toll on those involved.

Mr Furlong, 36, Mr Ritchie-Bennett, 39, and Mr Wails, 49, were friends and had been out enjoying the sunshine in the park when Saadallah attacked.

London's Old Bailey heard the Islamic extremist, who was 25 at the time, "executed" the men as an "act of religious jihad".

Saadallah later admitted the murders and pleaded guilty to the attempted murder of three other men who were also in the park.

Gary Furlong, whose son died in the attack, spoke on the steps of the Royal Courts of Justice after the hearing

Mr Furlong's father Gary, spokesperson for the bereaved families, said: "It has been a long and very painful two-and-a-half years, and we are relieved that at long last the inquest process into the deaths of James, David and Joseph is under way.

"As family members we all want to know how the awful deaths of our loved ones could have happened and we trust the coroner to carry out a full and fearless investigation of the circumstances and events that led up to that day."

A date for the full inquest has not yet been set.