Racially-motivated murder could have been avoided

The racist murder of a vulnerable asylum seeker in Knowle happened because of a catalogue of failings, according to a damning report.

A review by the Bristol Safeguarding Adults Board concluded that the tragic killing of Kamil Ahmad on July 6 2016 could have been avoided if lines of communication hadn’t broken down, leading to a medical tribunal acting on “incomplete information”.

Jeffrey Barry is now serving a life sentence for stabbing the Kurdish asylum seeker to death at the supported accommodation on Wells Road in which they were both residents.

The murder took place just hours after Barry’s release from a secure mental hospital.

Prior to the tragic event, a pattern of increasingly violent outbursts, sexualised behaviour and “racist beliefs that manifested in an obsession with Ahmad”, who Barry threatened to kill, culminated in him being detained under the Mental Health Act.

Because of bed shortages, Barry was moved from the Callington Road NHS psychiatric hospital in Brislington to the privately-run Cygnet Health Care Hospital in Kewstoke, north Somerset.

Barry asked for his case to be reviewed, but his NHS care team were only given 24 hours’ notice to compile their notes for the tribunal.

Hospital staff were unable to adequately context his application because they didn’t have his full medical history, or details of his previous threats.

The team at the Milestones Trust tried in vain to prevent Barry’s return to the same accommodation as Kamil.

Alas, following his discharge, Barry returned to his flat in the property, going on to visit several pubs and consuming “a large quantity of alcohol” before going back to the house once more and stabbing Kamil to death.

The report concludes: “It is clear that the decision by the Mental Health Tribunal to discharge the section had tragic consequences.

“It would seem that the tribunal did not follow the recommendations of the professionals involved and did not fully appreciate the significance of the problems in the accommodation and the inherent risk of Barry’s return.

“These two vulnerable men were supported by different groups of professionals with the only common denominator being the staff team at Milestones Trust, who were not included in case discussions and decision making.”

A series of miscommunications were identified in the report, which says “there were several opportunities in the scoping period, but also stretching back to 2014, when actions could have been taken to separate Barry and Kamil”.

Louise Lawton, independent chair of the Bristol Safeguarding Adults Board, said: “Kamil was tragically murdered in a country where he was seeking safety and his death has affected many people across Bristol and beyond.

“The board’s sympathies will always remain with Kamil’s family and friends and I am particularly grateful for his family’s involvement and support of this review during this distressing time.”

The report makes 16 recommendations, including:

• That Bristol Safeguarding Adult Board (BSAB) should refresh and re-launch its Adult
  Safeguarding escalation policy for all partner agencies
• Ensure there are clear standards and protocols for discharge planning meetings
• Improving information-sharing and safeguarding protocol