Overview
- Prevent closed the first referral on January 31, 2020 after concluding there was no ideology or vulnerability to radicalisation, with CTPNW’s Philip Blundell calling the behaviour “criminal, not terrorism.”
- Sergeant Carmen Thompson testified she did not see the child’s graphic internet searches, including for degloving injuries, and said she would have referred the case to Channel had she known.
- An officer in the Fixed Intelligence Management Unit said he searched seized devices only for the terms “beheading” and “shooting” and accepted he could have conducted a deeper examination.
- A December 2019 strategy meeting noted a hockey‑stick attack, a knife in a bag and a remark describing the Manchester Arena bombing as a “good battle,” which Thompson then viewed through the lens of autism and bullying.
- Two further school referrals in 2021, including over London Bridge research and Gaddafi posts, were closed after being deemed low risk, with one officer calling the school’s concerns a “knee jerk reaction,” as the inquiry probes missed chances for intervention.