Call for inquiry after 'senseless killing' of ex Wasps rugby player

Allan Isichei played for Wasps in the 1970s and 1980s and was a vice-president of the club

The family of a former Wasps rugby player has requested an inquiry into why a mentally ill man killed months after being arrested for carrying a knife.

Allan Isichei, 69, was stabbed to death by Gurjeet Lall, 36, on his way home from a pub yards from his home in Southall, west London, in August 2019.

Mr Isichei was a prop for Wasps during the 1970s and 1980s.

Lall was found guilty of manslaughter by reason of diminished responsibility.

Mr Isichei had drunk a single bottle of beer at the Plough Inn before making his way home at about 18:30 GMT when he was stabbed by Lall.

Mr Isichei was found in St Mary's Avenue South in Southall

At the trial at Inner Crown Court in October, jurors heard the killer had been arrested for possession of a knife in 2014 and 2019.

Lall told the court he had been diagnosed with schizophrenia but could not remember the last time he took his medication.

Mr Isichei's son Daniel, 43, said: "As a family we have struggled to come to terms with this killing and to understand why someone who has a history of violent abuse and knife carrying was allowed, under no supervision order, to be freely able to walk around and stab our father dead who was innocently walking home on his own leafy suburban street.

"The absolute lack of remorse and denial by the killer, combined with obvious mistakes made by authorities in not having him under some form of supervision licence has all added to our grief.

"We are pushing for an inquiry into why so many obvious triggers were missed."

The CPS said Lall received a four-month custodial sentence which he served for the previous knife offence.

Gurjeet Lall will be sentenced on Monday

Mr Isichei's family, including his 93-year-old mother, Phil, attended every day of the trial.

They said in a statement: "Why was a person with a history of carrying knives who was only arrested while carrying one in January 2019 allowed to be back out on the streets unsupervised to carry out this senseless killing?

"Authorities must answer the questions around why someone with a history of mental illness, was arrested in January for carrying a knife and was released in April with no follow-up on whether they were taking the medication that could have made a difference."

Lall, of Vine Cottages, St Mary's Avenue South, will be sentenced on Monday.