This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-merseyside-59828610
The article has changed 7 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
Version 0 | Version 1 |
---|---|
Liverpool bomber made device with murderous intent, coroner says | Liverpool bomber made device with murderous intent, coroner says |
(32 minutes later) | |
This video can not be played | |
To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. | |
Watch: The cab pulled up outside Liverpool Women's Hospital and exploded into flames | |
The Liverpool bomber died from an explosion and fire caused by a device he manufactured with "murderous intent", a coroner has ruled. | The Liverpool bomber died from an explosion and fire caused by a device he manufactured with "murderous intent", a coroner has ruled. |
Emad Al Swealmeen was killed when his bomb went off while he was inside a taxi at Liverpool Women's Hospital. | |
Senior coroner Andre Rebello said it was unclear whether he intended the device to detonate when it did. | |
The inquest heard Al Swealmeen rang his brother two days before he died and suggested he might do "something bad". | |
Iraqi-born Al Swealmeen, 32, was a passenger in the taxi when the bomb went off at 10:59 GMT on Remembrance Sunday. | |
The driver, David Perry, was taken to hospital but did not suffer life-threatening injuries. | The driver, David Perry, was taken to hospital but did not suffer life-threatening injuries. |
Emad Al Swealmeen was the passenger in a taxi which was destroyed by his bomb | |
Recording a narrative conclusion at Liverpool and Wirral Coroner's Court, Mr Rebello said Al Swealmeen had carried the improvised device into the taxi. | |
He said Al Swealmeen had made the bomb at a flat he had rented in Rutland Avenue, near Sefton Park in Liverpool. | |
"It is found he manufactured the improvised explosive device, designed to project shrapnel, with murderous intent," he added. | "It is found he manufactured the improvised explosive device, designed to project shrapnel, with murderous intent," he added. |
Miracle I'm alive, says Liverpool bomb taxi driver | |
Liverpool explosion: What we know so far | |
Liverpool bomber planning attack since April | |
The inquest heard Al Swealmeen was resident at premises provided by the Home Office in Sutcliffe Street, in the Kensington area of Liverpool. | |
But since April he had rented a self-contained flat in Rutland Avenue, near Sefton Park in the city, where he paid the rent monthly in cash. | |
Det Ch Insp Andrew Meeks, the senior investigating officer in the case, said it was accurate to describe the Rutland Avenue address as a "bomb-making factory". | |
He said there was no evidence to suggest anyone else had been involved with the procurement of materials or construction of the device but investigations were continuing. | |
David Perry, pictured with his wife Rachel, was injured in the blast | |
The inquest heard that Mr Perry was working on the morning of 14 November when a job came in for Rutland Avenue. | |
Mr Rebello said a male came down the steps of the house and walked around the back of the car into the rear passenger seat and the only words he spoke were "Women's Hospital". | |
The inquest was told taxi driver Mr Perry drove to the hospital and stopped outside the front entrance. | |
"As his car came to a stop he didn't notice anything unusual, no warning, no movement from the passenger, just the blast," Mr Rebello said. | |
"He described the journey as non-eventful, saying if the bomb hadn't gone off he wouldn't have remembered anything about the journey." | |
The taxi was removed from outside the hospital several days after the blast | |
The inquest heard Al Swealmeen came to the country legally in May 2014 with a Jordanian passport and UK visa. | |
Mr Rebello said: "Shortly after his arrival he claimed, it is believed falsely, that he was of Syrian heritage and claimed asylum as a refugee from that country." | |
He said that claim and all subsequent claims for asylum were refused, with the latest refusal in November 2020. | |
Mr Rebello said there had been reports Al Swealmeen had rejected Islam and converted to Christianity. | |
He asked Det Ch Insp Meeks if this could be to strengthen his asylum claim. | |
"I'd agree with that because he would claim he'd be liable to persecution on return to Syria or Iraq," the officer said. | |
Why not follow BBC North West on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram? You can also send story ideas to northwest.newsonline@bbc.co.uk | Why not follow BBC North West on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram? You can also send story ideas to northwest.newsonline@bbc.co.uk |