Afghan Asylum Seeker Convicted of Murder Had Been Flagged up to Prevent

Home Office admits Lawangeen Abdulrahimzai was on their radar

An undated police mugshot of Lawangeen Abdulrahimzai, who murdered Thomas Roberts in Bournemouth, England, on March 12, 2022. Dorset Police

An asylum seeker who was convicted of murdering a man in the seaside resort of Bournemouth in March 2022 had been flagged up to the Home Office’s Prevent programme because of his potential as a terrorist, a pre-inquest hearing has heard.

Lawangeen Abdulrahimzai was jailed for life in January for the murder of Tommy Roberts, 21, who was stabbed after he tried to step in and defuse an argument between the killer and his friend James Medway.