Mohibur Rahman stabbings: Durham Police 'acted appropriately'

Those injured were connected to the restaurant, police said

Durham Police has been cleared of any wrongdoing over its dealings with a man who went on to stab two restaurant workers in Darlington.

Mohibur Rahman was jailed for 16 years after seriously injuring the two men at the Shapla restaurant in July 2016.

The force referred itself to the police watchdog after it emerged he had made four 999 calls and been detained for an unrelated offence hours earlier.

Investigators concluded officers and call handlers had acted appropriately.

Rahman, 43, was jailed in February after pleading guilty to wounding at Teesside Crown Court.

The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) looked at the force's actions in the 43 hours before the attack, when Rahman made the 999 calls, including a final one in which he claimed he had seen people with firearms.

A 101 non-emergency call was also received from Rahman's landlady in which she reported criminal damage at his flat.

Mohibur Rahman was jailed in February

IPCC investigators concluded that none of the police call handling staff or officers involved had a case to answer for misconduct.

They also said that while officers were not sent to Rahman's address within a one-hour target time in response to his final call, this was due to "a lack of resources".

An IPCC spokesman said: "We would like to offer our sympathies to everyone affected by this horrific attack and reassure the families involved that we carried out a very thorough and detailed investigation.

"Although there were no identifiable conduct issues, we have identified learning for Durham's control room staff about how they handle calls concerning firearms."

Ch Insp Catherine James, head of Durham's control room, said: "Since this case, new procedures have been put in place around how such incidents are recorded and we have reviewed our staffing to ensure more resources are available at peak times.

"Control room staff have also had further training around handling calls with a potential firearms element."