A coroner today asked jurors at the inquest into the death of Streatham terrorist Sudesh Amman to consider whether his horrific attack could have been prevented.
Amman, 20, was shot dead by armed undercover officers after he stole a knife from a shop and began randomly stabbing members of the public in South London.
The jury, which has been directed to return a conclusion of 'lawful killing', will also now consider whether opportunities were missed by police and probation services.
Jurors in the capital have retired to consider their conclusions on events leading up to the incident on Streatham High Road shortly before 2pm on February 2, 2020.
Amman had been released from HMP Belmarsh into the community just over a week earlier on January 23 to serve the remainder of his 40-month sentence on licence.
Sudesh Amman, 20, was shot dead by armed undercover officers after he stole a knife from a shop and began randomly stabbing members of the public in Streatham, South London
Body worn camera footage issued by the Metropolitan Police showing armed officers approaching the prone body of Amman, who had been shot, on February 2, 2020
Following two and a half weeks of evidence, coroner Mr Justice Hilliard summed up what had been heard and gave legal directions to the jury today. He said the only 'safe conclusion' on the actions of the police was that Amman was lawfully killed.
He told jurors: 'Sudesh Amman was trying to do dreadful things on February 2. What is required is a cool, calm, careful and impartial assessment of the evidence in the inquest. What you mustn't do is indulge in speculation or guesswork.'
Probation officer defends decision not to recall terrorist
A former probation service worker has defended a decision not to initiate a process to recall Streatham terrorist Sudesh Amman to prison in the days before his attack, despite evidence he had made 'concerning' purchases.
Speaking on Monday, Alan Reid said that although there may have been grounds to search the 20-year-old's probation hostel room, the service did not want to compromise covert police operations.
Amman was shot dead by undercover officers on February 2, 2020 after he stabbed two members of the public on Streatham High Road in South London.
He had previously been seen buying items - including four bottles of Irn Bru, parcel tape and tin foil in Poundland - that it was feared could be used to make a hoax suicide belt.
But jurors heard that such purchases - described by Jonathan Hough QC, counsel to the inquest, as 'concerning' - had not raised the threshold of concern high enough to warrant initiation of the process to recall him to prison.
Mr Reid, former national security lead for the probation service, said he had spoken to a colleague two days before the attack to discuss responses to Amman's actions.
'(On Friday 31) I didn't think there was enough information to recall to prison,' he said on Monday, giving evidence to the inquest into Amman's death.
Mr Reid said the probation service 'quite possibly' could have justified a search of Amman's room at the hostel as 'routine'.
'There was certainly scope to do a routine search,' he said. ' the overarching impression that I was left with was that we didn't want to take any action that would compromise the police operation.'
Rajiv Menon QC, representing Amman's family, suggested a probation officer's threshold for initiating the recall to prison was 'plainly a modest one'.
The inquest previously heard from Carina Heckroodt, head of the London Extremism Gangs and Organised Crime Unit at the probation service, who also denied it was a 'missed opportunity' to recall Amman to prison after his Poundland purchases.
The coroner said the evidence showed each of the officers who shot Amman 'at every stage honestly believed that it was necessary to use force in defence of himself and others'.
He added that the amount of force used at each stage was 'no more than reasonably necessary in the circumstances'.
'Therefore, the only safe conclusion is that Sudesh Amman was lawfully killed,' he said. 'On that basis, as a matter of law, as the coroner I direct you to return a short-form conclusion of lawful killing.'
The inquest, held at the Royal Courts of Justice, heard Amman was considered 'one of the most dangerous individuals' investigated by police and MI5, and that he maintained an extremist mindset throughout his time in prison.
He was seen purchasing items - including four small bottles of Irn Bru, parcel tape and tin foil - in Poundland two days before he struck, leading to suspicions he was planning to make a hoax suicide belt.
These suspicions were confirmed after Amman was shot and he was found to be wearing one.
The belt was later dismissed as a 'crude' fake, although police are trained to consider all such devices as viable until proven otherwise.
Mr Hilliard asked jurors to consider whether the probation service missed any opportunity missed that may have prevented the attack and Amman's consequent death, by deciding not to recall him to prison after being notified of the 'concerning' purchases.
Jurors were also asked whether police investigators and probation both missed opportunities to organise searches of Amman's hostel room.
The inquest was previously told by a former probation service worker that such a search 'quite possibly' could have been justified as 'routine'.
The coroner also asked jurors to consider if an opportunity had been missed to stop and search Amman on the day of the attack, as he made his way to the Streatham High Road.
Amman was observed leaving his approved premises at 1.22pm and wandering 'very slowly', appearing 'aimless', to the high street, before beginning his attack at 1.57pm.
Mr Justice Hilliard reminded jurors of Amman's background including concerns of aggressive behaviour from a young age and previous arrests for terror offences.
Amman was born on December 27, 1999 in Coventry, and was the oldest of six boys of Sri Lankan descent.
Little is known about Amman's path to radicalisation - although he was said to have been traumatised by witnessing the decapitation of human bodies during a family holiday to Sri Lanka aged 15.
He was convicted in 2018 of 13 counts of collecting material useful for terrorism and disseminating terrorist publications.
He was released on January 23, 2020 despite concerns from the police and MI5 that he retained his extremist mindset, reportedly saying he was 'proud' of being the youngest terrorist offender in Belmarsh.
Photographs taken from a classified police intelligence report into Amman when he was under surveillance, which have both been shown to the jury in the inquest into his death
But just days before he struck he claimed to have changed his ways, telling a mentor he 'now realised' that those who committed terrorist acts ended up 'pushing people away' from Islam.
The inquest heard Amman was shot at six times after lunging at officers at the end of his 62-second stabbing spree, with between two and four bullets hitting him.
Attention was drawn to the bravery of officers BX75 and BX87, who fired the fatal shots, then contained the situation despite knowing about the presence of a potential bomb, after discovering the hoax belt.
Amman was declared dead 90 minutes later at 3.24pm.
The jury, which was previously reduced from 11 to nine after two members were discharged due to medical issues, will now consider its conclusions.
