Greater Manchester Police Chief Constable Sir Stephen Watson apologised after admitting mobile devices seized twice from Manchester synagogue attacker Jihad Al-Shamie months before the October 2 2025 killings were never examined, as a co-conspirator was jailed for life on Thursday for a separate military base terror plot.
When Greater Manchester Police seized mobile devices from 35-year-old Jihad Al-Shamie during two separate arrests in February and September 2025, investigators held the digital keys to an ongoing extremist plot. Yet those phones remained unanalysed while Al-Shamie walked free on bail for an alleged rape. Months later, on October 2 2025, Syrian-born UK citizen Al-Shamie carried out a car and knife assault at the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation synagogue in Crumpsall, killing two Jewish men before police shot him dead.
The Missed Digital Evidence and Chief Constable’s Apology
Internal reviews following the tragedy laid bare a critical breakdown in intelligence gathering. Greater Manchester Police Chief Constable Sir Stephen Watson said he was “deeply sorry, conceding that
the information contained within these devices would have inspired further investigative action. Sir Stephen said the end of legal proceedings against Bashir meant rules around sharing information about a live criminal case had been lifted. He said:
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.
Sir Stephen Watson also stated: I am disappointed at the prospect of adding to the distress of all of those affected by the terrible events last October.
Expressing regret for compounding the trauma faced by victims’ families, he added: For this, I am deeply sorry.
The devices were confiscated from him when he was arrested in February over an alleged breach of a non-molestation order and in September on suspicion of rape.
Uncovering the WhatsApp Conspiracies and Mosque Reconnaissance
Following the synagogue attack, WhatsApp messages and voice note exchanges between the pair were uncovered when police analysed two phones seized from Al-Shamie earlier in 2025. Prosecutors said there was no evidence to suggest Bashir had any involvement in the Heaton Park incident. Police also obtained a warrant to examine Al-Shamie’s online iCloud and iPhone storage data, while CCTV footage of the two men at the Al-Sunnah Mosque in Cheetham Hill also formed a key part of the prosecution case. Bashir and Al-Shamie mistakenly believed they were not being heard or watched as they planned terror attacks on synagogues.
The digital trail revealed that Al-Shamie and Bashir had spent considerable effort planning synchronized atrocities.
Life Sentence for Co-Conspirator Mohammad Bashir
Mohammad Bashir, 31, drove Jihad Al-Shamie, 35, on a 10-hour round trip to conduct hostile reconnaissance at the UK’s Defence Academy in Shrivenham, Swindon, on August 14 last year. Bashir, of Cheetham Hill, Manchester, pleaded guilty to the preparation of terrorist acts and was jailed at Manchester Crown Court today. The planned attack on the defence facility was similar in nature and would have caused multiple fatalities, they said.
MoD Shrivenham is the home of the UK’s Defence Academy, which provides professional defence and security education to the British armed forces, wider UK government, UK industry and overseas personnel. Routinely, there will be up to 4,000 staff, contractors, students and visitors on site at any given time. Sentencing Bashir on Thursday, Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb told him that by August last year he had become a ‘firmly committed jihadist’ and together with Al-Shamie was ‘equally engaged’ in planning an attack on a British military target ‘in which you and he expected to kill and be killed’.
She rejected his claim to a probation officer that he no longer held extremist views and regretted his actions. The judge said: ‘I consider you remain dangerous. You have given no grounds that your attitude has really changed at all.’ Following sentencing, Manchester-born Bashir, who also holds a Pakistani passport, smiled to family members in the upper public gallery of the courtroom as he casually walked from the dock.
Systemic Blind Spots and Ongoing Accountability
As judicial proceedings conclude for Bashir—who smiled toward family members in the public gallery as he walked from the dock—Sir Stephen Watson, Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police, issued an apology over the ‘missed opportunity’ to gather intelligence on Al-Shamie before he launched his attack.
Sources: bbc.co.uk.
