Greater Manchester police have apologised for a “missed opportunity” to act before an attack on a synagogue, admitting they seized the attacker’s phones but never bothered to look at the data. Sir Stephen Watson, the force’s chief constable, said with admirable understatement that the unexamined devices “would have inspired further investigative action.” He added, “I am disappointed at the prospect of adding to the distress of all of those affected by the terrible events last October. For this, I am deeply sorry.”

The apology comes as Mohammad Bashir, 31, a friend of the attacker Jihad al-Shamie, was jailed for life with a minimum term of 17 years for planning a terrorist act with Shamie two months before the synagogue attack. The pair drove to the UK Defence Academy in Shrivenham, Swindon, on a hostile reconnaissance mission in August last year. In October, Shamie was shot dead by police after attacking the Heaton Park synagogue on Yom Kippur, wearing a fake suicide belt. Two Jewish men, Adrian Daulby, 53, and Melvin Cravitz, 66, died in the deadliest antisemitic attack in Britain in recent memory.

Watson revealed that Shamie had been arrested in February and September last year, and both times his mobile devices were seized. “The significance of the data contents of these devices was substantial in respect of evidencing an extremist mindset,” he said. “Regrettably, I can confirm that the significance of the information stored on al-Shamie’s devices was not realised as they had not been examined before the attack took place on 2 October 2025.” The Independent Office for Police Conduct is now reviewing GMP’s past investigations into Shamie.

Bashir pleaded guilty last month to preparing terrorist acts. He drove Shamie on a 10-hour round trip to MoD Shrivenham, home of the UK’s Defence Academy, where up to 4,000 staff, contractors, students and visitors are normally on site. Prosecutors said there was no evidence Bashir was involved in the Heaton Park attack, but the planned attack on the defence facility was similar in nature and would have caused multiple fatalities.

Raphi Bloom, of the Jewish Representative Council of Greater Manchester, welcomed the apology and said the force had been “outstanding” in protecting the community. Judge Cheema-Grubb, jailing Bashir, described him as a “fully committed jihadist” at the time of the reconnaissance trip, rejecting his claim of reformed views. “I consider you remain dangerous,” she said. After sentencing, Bashir smiled to family members in the public gallery as he walked from the dock.