Inquest into murder of Tom Roberts will not feature terror report

The area coroner for Dorset, Rachael Griffin, said that Thomas Roberts’ death at the hands of Lawangeen Abdulrahimzai ‘was not related to terrorism’.

As reported, Abdulrahimzai was deemed a ‘potential terror risk’ and that a year prior to his death in March 2022, the Home Office’s Prevent anti-terrorism programme had been made aware of him.

Abdulrahimzai stabbed Mr Roberts, 21, to death as he acted as a ‘peacemaker’ in an argument between the killer and his friend James Medway in Bournemouth on 12 March 2022. He was given a life sentence with a minimum of 29 years.

At a pre-inquest review hearing on January 23, it was heard that a review into the programme’s involvement in the case, along with a peer review into the report’s outcomes, has now been completed.

But Ms Griffin told the court that she does not believe the review is relevant to the inquest, at this stage.

“My provisional view is Tommy’s death was not related to a terrorist action or terrorist activity,” Ms Griffin said.

“I am content that they do not assist this coronial investigation into Tommy’s death.”

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She added that as a result of this, the reviews fall outside of the scope of the inquest, and so will not be presented as evidence.

Both this review, and a further review into the Home Office’s role in processing the 21-year-old Afghan when he arrived in the UK, would need to be restricted due to potential national security breaches.

Ms Griffin said information ‘may touch upon issues of national security’ in both reports, and the court heard that the latter review would require submissions on redactions should it be used as evidence.

Mr Roberts’ family raised two concerns at the hearing, the first relating to the processing of Abdulrahimzai when he arrived in the UK.

The second concerned Dorset Police’s actions after a report was made to them on March 10, 2022, two days before the victim’s death, that Abdulrahimzai was in the possession of a bladed article.

The county force referred itself to the Independent Office of Police Conduct (IOPC), the hearing heard, who then referred the case back for a regional review by the Dorset Police professional standards department.

This report said: “There was no action or omission that was causative or contributing to Tommy’s death.”

This is because there was ‘no immediate risk’ and ‘no threat made’ with his possession of the bladed article.

The coroner said she is yet to make a determination as to whether the inquest will go ahead.

“The test for whether I resume or not is whether there is sufficient reason to do so,” Ms Griffin said.

“The main consideration is if the four statutory questions that a coroner is required to answer have already been answered.”

A further pre-inquest review will be held on March 8, where ta decision will be made after further submissions have been made relating to the Home Office review and from Mr Roberts’ family and other interested persons.