UK announces public inquiry into Manchester synagogue deaths

British authorities will conduct a new inquiry into the slaying of two people last year during a jihadist attack on the Heaton Park Synagogue in Manchester, in which the assailant was also killed, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said on Monday.

“As requested by the coroner, I can today announce a public inquiry into the deaths of Mr. Cravitz and Mr. Daulby,” Mahmood said in a speech at the House of Commons, The Jewish News of London reported.

The assault was carried out on Oct. 2, 2025, which was Yom Kippur, by Jihad al-Shamie, 35, a Syrian-born British citizen. Melvin Cravitz died from multiple knife wounds, while Adrian Daulby was killed by a bullet fired by armed officers who had been scrambled to the scene, police had said.

“On that awful day in October of last year, as our Jewish community celebrated Yom Kippur, two brave men, Melvin Cravitz and Adrian Daulby, lost their lives, and three others were seriously injured. What happened that day must be fully understood,” Mahmood said.

“This will ensure that all evidence can be heard, including any sensitive national security material that could not otherwise be fully heard in the coroner’s court,” she added.

Last month, Judge Alexia Durran, Chief Coroner of England and Wales, said she was writing to the Home Secretary to recommend that the inquests be converted into a public inquiry.

At a hearing earlier this month, Home Office lawyers applied to prevent some information from MI5, Britain’s domestic security agency, from being made public at a future inquest, citing national security concerns, the Jewish News reported.

U.K. Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp told MPs: ”It is more important than ever that we double our efforts to fight antisemitism and Islamist extremism.”

Phil Rosenberg, the president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, and communal colleagues met with Mahmood and U.K. Public Security Minister Dan Jarvis on Tuesday to “talk about next steps in the fight against antisemitism and extremism,” following the announcement about the inquiry, the Board said on X.