Manchester Police Apologize for Missed Intelligence Before Synagogue Terror Attack on Yom Kippur

Manchester police publicly apologized for failing to investigate critical intelligence that could have prevented the deadly stabbing attack at a synagogue on Yom Kippur in October 2025. Police Chief Sir Stephen Watson admitted that the mobile phones of the attacker, Jihad Al-Shami, were seized twice earlier that year but the data was not examined, missing a key opportunity to intervene before the attack that killed two worshippers.

Al-Shami, a Syrian migrant who was shot dead by police during the attack, had been arrested twice prior to the incident, once in February 2025 for breaching a restraining order and again in September on suspicion of rape. The unexamined phone data contained extremist and antisemitic messages, including communications with co-conspirator Mohammed Bashir. Bashir was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 17 years for assisting Al-Shami in planning another terror attack that ultimately did not occur.

The investigation into the police’s handling of Al-Shami’s case is now under review by the Independent Office for Police Conduct. The court described Bashir as a committed jihadist loyal to ISIS, though no evidence linked him directly to the synagogue attack. The attack at the Heaton Park synagogue resulted in the deaths of Adrian Dolby, 53, and Melvin Cravitz, 66, both members of the local Jewish community attending Yom Kippur services.

Chief Watson expressed deep regret for the oversight, acknowledging that timely analysis of the seized phones would likely have triggered further investigative actions. The police apology and court sentencing highlight serious failings in counterterrorism efforts preceding the attack, which has prompted calls for improved intelligence procedures in the UK.

Summary: Manchester police apologized for failing to analyze seized phone data from the synagogue attacker before the deadly 2025 Yom Kippur stabbing, which killed two worshippers. Co-conspirator Mohammed Bashir received a life sentence for planning another terror attack. An independent review of police handling is underway.