Manchester police admit having prior access to synagogue attacker’s phone, which went unchecked for extremist content

Police had access to the phone of the British-Syrian national before he carried out a deadly ramming and stabbing attack on a Manchester synagogue last year. However, officers did not analyze the phone for radical content, which they later learned was on it.

The admission was made by Greater Manchester Police Chief Constable Sir Stephen Watson in an apology statement.

Jihad al-Shamie had been previously arrested for alleged rape, at which point his devices were seized by police. Shamie was out on bail in October 2025 when he rammed his car into the gates of Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation as congregants gathered for Yom Kippur morning prayer services. He stabbed Melvin Cravitz, 66, to death after disembarking, then tried to storm the synagogue before police shot him dead. Adrian Daulby, 53, died from a single gunshot wound to the chest fired by a police officer responding to the situation.

“In conducting an internal review, it became apparent that GMP had seized Al-Shamie’s mobile devices, at the point of each arrest. The significance of the data contents of these devices was substantial in respect of evidencing an extremist mindset,” Watson says.

“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,” he adds.