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.

After his conviction it emerged Mr. Abdulrahimzai had killed two fellow Afghan migrants with a Kalashnikov rifle in a refugee camp in Serbia in August 2018 during a dispute about people-trafficking.

He fled the country but was convicted of murder in absentia.

Mr. Abdulrahimzai was born in Afghanistan and, after travelling across Asia and Europe, arrived at the port of Poole in Dorset in December 2019. He claimed to be 14, although it has since emerged he was 18 at the time.

‘Susceptible to Terrorism’

At a pre-inquest hearing on Wednesday, Adam Farrer, representing the Home Office, said, “As we understand it, in 2021 Mr. Abdulrahimzai was referred to Prevent due to concerns that he was susceptible to terrorism.”

Mr. Farrer told the hearing, “We were given instruction that there is to be a further review by the Prevent homeland security department within the Home Office.”

He said a review of the Home Office’s role in processing Mr. Abdulrahimzai’s immigration status had been completed but he said it would not be publicly available as it could reveal procedures used when processing asylum applicants.

Mr. Farrer said, “The review is an internal report commissioned by the Home Office’s professional standards unit to review the actions taken by the Home Office in relation to Mr. Abdulrahimzai and it was commissioned on the basis it would not be published, it is a private, internal report.”

“The report contains day-to-day policies which are public but also operating processes, detailed background security processing which are highly sensitive which could be used by those who wish to abuse the asylum process if they were aware of how the Home Office deals with criminal checks,” he added.

“For example, it is well known that if you are a minor or a child there are different rules than if you are an adult as we saw in this particular sad case, Mr. Abdulrahimzai claimed to be a minor when he was first encountered by Home Office employed staff,” said Mr. Farrer.

Mr. Roberts’s father, Philip Roberts, told the hearing he had been given no information about the reviews into his son’s killer.

‘Totally Unacceptable’

The senior coroner for Dorset, Rachael Griffin, said, “I am astounded that Tommy’s family have not been told about the review and I am sure you will feed that back and I would urge them to get in contact as soon as possible.”

“It’s totally unacceptable what has happened over the past six or seven months as we have chased our tails to find out what has happened,” she added.

Ms. Griffin also asked Bournemouth, Christchurch, and Poole Council to provide full information about the age assessment checks they carried out on Mr. Abdulrahimzai while he was in foster care after his arrival in Dorset.

Mr. Roberts said he also wanted clarification about reports that Dorset Police were aware Mr. Abdulrahimzai had been carrying a knife in the days before his son’s death.

Ms. Griffin adjourned for another hearing in January, pending the full inquest next year.

When Mr. Abdulrahimzai was sentenced to a minimum of 29 years in prison, immigration minister Robert Jenrick said he was likely to be deported at the end of his sentence.

A Home Office spokesman said, “It would be inappropriate to comment while legal proceedings are ongoing.”

PA Media contributed to this report.