Usman Khan killed two people in a terror attack near London Bridge. West Midlands Police via AP
Usman Khan killed two people in a terror attack near London Bridge. West Midlands Police via AP
Usman Khan killed two people in a terror attack near London Bridge. West Midlands Police via AP
Usman Khan killed two people in a terror attack near London Bridge. West Midlands Police via AP

UK terrorists ‘should take lie detector tests’


Nicky Harley
  • English
  • Arabic

Terrorist offenders should take lie detector tests, according to a review into UK government failures that allowed a released prisoner to stab fatally two young people at a rehabilitation conference last year.

A review commissioned following last year’s attack near London Bridge has made 45 recommendations.

Cambridge University graduates Jack Merritt, 25, and Saskia Jones, 23, were stabbed to death last November by Usman Khan.

Cambridge University graduate Jack Merritt, 25, was the first victim named from the terrorist attack on London Bridge on Friday.
Cambridge University graduate Jack Merritt, 25, was the first victim named from the terrorist attack on London Bridge on Friday.

Khan, who had been released early from serving a 16-year jail sentence for plotting to blow up the London Stock Exchange, was attending a prisoner rehabilitation event at the time.

In a review of the multi-agency public protection arrangements (Mappa), barrister Jonathan Hall QC said lie detector tests could help the authorities discover whether a released terrorist was a threat.

“Polygraph testing is not a means of predicting whether an offender will reoffend. It is a useful means of gathering information which is relevant to the assessment of risk,” he said.

“Polygraph testing is a sensible additional tool for obtaining information relevant to the risk posed by terrorist offenders. Polygraph testing for terrorist offenders should be adopted.”

Britain's Ministry of Justice says the government is currently legislating to force terrorism offenders to take lie detector tests.

The report also revealed there needed to be “wider sharing” of information between professionals and called for a "cultural shift" in how authorities shared information about people convicted of terrorism.

“There should be wider sharing with probation officers not only of specific intelligence but also of threat assessments and profiles; probation officers involved in assessing terrorist risk should be given some training in the principles of intelligence assessment,” he added.

Home Office minister Chris Philp said the authorities were working together to review the recommendations in the report.

"Jonathan Hall found that Mappa is a well-established process and did not conclude that wholesale change is necessary,” he said.

"He has made a number of recommendations on how the management of terrorists can be improved and the government, police and Prison and Probation Service have been working on changes in line with many of them."

Who's who in Yemen conflict

Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government

Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council

Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south

Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory

Avatar: Fire and Ash

Director: James Cameron

Starring: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana

Rating: 4.5/5

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Jebel Ali results

2pm: Handicap (PA) Dh 50,000 (Dirt) 1,400m

Winner: AF Al Moreeb, Antonio Fresu (jockey), Ernst Oertel (trainer)

2.30pm: Maiden (TB) Dh 60,000 (D) 1,400m

Winner: Shamikh, Ryan Curatolo, Nicholas Bachalard

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Winner: One Vision, Connor Beasley, Ali Rashid Al Raihe

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Winner: Gabr, Sam Hitchcott, Doug Watson

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Winner: Just A Penny, Sam Hitchcock, Doug Watson

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Winner: Torno Subito, Sam Hitchcock, Doug Watson

5pm: Handicap (TB) Dh 76,000 (D) 1,950m

Winner: Untold Secret, Jose Santiago, Salem bin Ghadayer

The President's Cake

Director: Hasan Hadi

Starring: Baneen Ahmad Nayyef, Waheed Thabet Khreibat, Sajad Mohamad Qasem 

Rating: 4/5

The five pillars of Islam

1. Fasting 

2. Prayer 

3. Hajj 

4. Shahada 

5. Zakat 

Jetour T1 specs

Engine: 2-litre turbocharged

Power: 254hp

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The Settlers

Director: Louis Theroux

Starring: Daniella Weiss, Ari Abramowitz

Rating: 5/5

The candidates

Dr Ayham Ammora, scientist and business executive

Ali Azeem, business leader

Tony Booth, professor of education

Lord Browne, former BP chief executive

Dr Mohamed El-Erian, economist

Professor Wyn Evans, astrophysicist

Dr Mark Mann, scientist

Gina MIller, anti-Brexit campaigner

Lord Smith, former Cabinet minister

Sandi Toksvig, broadcaster

 

Most wanted allegations
  • Benjamin Macann, 32: involvement in cocaine smuggling gang.
  • Jack Mayle, 30: sold drugs from a phone line called the Flavour Quest.
  • Callum Halpin, 27: over the 2018 murder of a rival drug dealer. 
  • Asim Naveed, 29: accused of being the leader of a gang that imported cocaine.
  • Calvin Parris, 32: accused of buying cocaine from Naveed and selling it on.
  • John James Jones, 31: allegedly stabbed two people causing serious injuries.
  • Callum Michael Allan, 23: alleged drug dealing and assaulting an emergency worker.
  • Dean Garforth, 29: part of a crime gang that sold drugs and guns.
  • Joshua Dillon Hendry, 30: accused of trafficking heroin and crack cocain. 
  • Mark Francis Roberts, 28: grievous bodily harm after a bungled attempt to steal a £60,000 watch.
  • James ‘Jamie’ Stevenson, 56: for arson and over the seizure of a tonne of cocaine.
  • Nana Oppong, 41: shot a man eight times in a suspected gangland reprisal attack. 
What is a robo-adviser?

Robo-advisers use an online sign-up process to gauge an investor’s risk tolerance by feeding information such as their age, income, saving goals and investment history into an algorithm, which then assigns them an investment portfolio, ranging from more conservative to higher risk ones.

These portfolios are made up of exchange traded funds (ETFs) with exposure to indices such as US and global equities, fixed-income products like bonds, though exposure to real estate, commodity ETFs or gold is also possible.

Investing in ETFs allows robo-advisers to offer fees far lower than traditional investments, such as actively managed mutual funds bought through a bank or broker. Investors can buy ETFs directly via a brokerage, but with robo-advisers they benefit from investment portfolios matched to their risk tolerance as well as being user friendly.

Many robo-advisers charge what are called wrap fees, meaning there are no additional fees such as subscription or withdrawal fees, success fees or fees for rebalancing.

Abandon
Sangeeta Bandyopadhyay
Translated by Arunava Sinha
Tilted Axis Press 

The Travel Diaries of Albert Einstein The Far East, Palestine, and Spain, 1922 – 1923
Editor Ze’ev Rosenkranz
​​​​​​​Princeton

Company profile

Company: Rent Your Wardrobe 

Date started: May 2021 

Founder: Mamta Arora 

Based: Dubai 

Sector: Clothes rental subscription 

Stage: Bootstrapped, self-funded 

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Islamophobia definition

A widely accepted definition was made by the All Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims in 2019: “Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.” It further defines it as “inciting hatred or violence against Muslims”.

The Sand Castle

Director: Matty Brown

Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea

Rating: 2.5/5

Three tips from La Perle's performers

1 The kind of water athletes drink is important. Gwilym Hooson, a 28-year-old British performer who is currently recovering from knee surgery, found that out when the company was still in Studio City, training for 12 hours a day. “The physio team was like: ‘Why is everyone getting cramps?’ And then they realised we had to add salt and sugar to the water,” he says.

2 A little chocolate is a good thing. “It’s emergency energy,” says Craig Paul Smith, La Perle’s head coach and former Cirque du Soleil performer, gesturing to an almost-empty open box of mini chocolate bars on his desk backstage.

3 Take chances, says Young, who has worked all over the world, including most recently at Dragone’s show in China. “Every time we go out of our comfort zone, we learn a lot about ourselves,” she says.