Parsons Green bomber was not investigated by MI5 after admitting he had been trained to kill by ISIS

A man who told officials he had been “trained to kill” at an Isis camp in Iraq was not investigated by MI5 before he attempted to blow up a Tube train in west London, a new report by MPs has revealed.

Parliament’s Intelligence and Security Committee said there had been “fundamental failings” by the Home Office, counterterror police and Surrey County Council leading up to Ahmed Hassan’s attempted atrocity in Parsons Green.

“Whilst Hassan had revealed in an asylum interview that he had been taken by Daesh and trained to kill, he had not been investigated by MI5 prior to launching his attack,” the report said.

Another name for ISIS, the word Daesh is based on Arabic acronym al-Dawla al-Islamiya fil Iraq wa’al Sham, which translates as Islamic State of Iraq and Sham (Syria), but is close to “Dahes” or “one who sows discord”.

The report added: “The litany of errors that resulted in Hassan’s attack-planning passing unnoticed, despite his participation in the [government’s] Channel programme, highlights deep-rooted issues in the administration of the Prevent strand of [government strategy] Contest.”

The Prevent strategy aims to identify and provide support to individuals who are at risk of being drawn into terrorism.

The committee said the Home Office did not provide the evidence it requested on Hassan in time for its report, and that MPs would be “directly answerable” for the failings found.

Hassan, who claimed to be 18, was jailed for life in March for attempting to bomb a Tube train in September 2017.

A judge found he was driven by a “mindset of Isis extremism”, a deep-seated hatred of Britain and a desire for revenge over the death of his father during the Iraq War and continued bombing of his home country.

Experts said Hassan’s device was viable but did not fully detonate. However, 23 victims were nonetheless left with burn injuries and another 28 injured in a crush to escape Parsons Green station.

The court heard Hassan lied about his age when he arrived in the UK on the back of a lorry from Calais in 2015 to gain the “special privileges” afforded to child asylum seekers.

He told immigration officials he had been forced to train as a child soldier at an Isis camp in his home country, but fled when the region was retaken by Iraqi government forces.

During an interview in January 2016, Hassan told officials he had been “trained to kill” by the terrorist group and indoctrinated in “what Allah believed was right”.

But instead of being treated as a potential terror threat, he was given support as a vulnerable asylum seeker and referred to the government’s Prevent counter-extremism programme.

When asked whether the categorisation of other asylum seekers may have created risks, committee chair Dominic Grieve QC said MPs were being handed further material.

“Hassan was an asylum seeker, he described himself as being underage and he was given appropriate support for someone in that position,” Mr Grieve told The Independent. “There was clear evidence he had been with Isis and been involved in acts of violence. His behaviour, which showed some clear signs of disturbance, and some of the things he said should have been investigated as a security risk.”

Hassan told his college mentor it was his “duty to hate Britain”, and she raised the alarm after seeing a WhatsApp message on his phone reading “IS [Islamic State] has accepted your donation”.

He had been caught watching an Isis propaganda video and listening to nasheeds (Islamic songs) which were subsequently identified by The Independent as the group’s official propaganda.

Officials considered his academic success at Brooklands College in Surrey a “significant protective factor”, but Hassan was leading a double life and even used a voucher awarded for being named “student of the year” to buy bombmaking materials from Amazon.

The Prevent strategy’s intervention programme, Channel, formally met to discuss his case nine times between June 2016 and September 2017, but did not request ideological mentoring.

Police who interviewed Hassan twice did not raise concern he could become involved in terrorism, instead believing he was making “positive progress”.

The panel in charge of his case did not take full account of red flags such as the teenager repeatedly going missing from his foster home and suffering from depression and post-traumatic stress disorder, the review found.

Ten days before Hassan detonated his bomb, Channel considered closing his case.

A Home Office spokesperson said Prevent plays a “vital role in stopping vulnerable people being drawn into terrorism”.

The spokesperson added: “Over 1,300 people have been supported through the Channel programme since 2012, the vast majority leaving with no further concerns. Following the Parsons Green attack, we worked with Surrey County Council and the police to examine the perpetrator’s case, including how Prevent was implemented. This allowed all involved to take swift action and improve safeguards to ensure this does not happen again.”

Source: Independent