MANCHESTER, UK — The Chief Coroner of England and Wales is to recommend that the Government establish a public inquiry into the terrorist attack at a Manchester synagogue last year that killed two men.

Judge Alexia Durran, who is overseeing the inquests into the deaths of Adrian Daulby, 53, and Melvin Cravitz, 66, said she would write to Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood recommending that the inquests be converted into a public inquiry.

The inquests had been planned following the attack at the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation synagogue in Manchester in October 2025. However, the need to examine sensitive material from MI5 has raised concerns about whether the inquest process can provide the necessary level of confidentiality.

At a hearing earlier in September, lawyers for the Home Office applied to prevent some MI5 information from being made public at a future inquest, citing national security concerns. Inquests do not have a mechanism for holding hearings entirely in private.

A public inquiry, however, can allow certain hearings to take place behind closed doors, with the press and public excluded, when sensitive information needs to be considered. Judge Durran said such an arrangement would be necessary to carry out a full investigation while protecting national security information.

Government lawyers argued that releasing the MI5 material could harm national security. Lawyers representing the families of the two victims questioned why private hearings were necessary, particularly because authorities had previously stated publicly that the attacker was not known to security services.

The attack took place on October 2, 2025, when Jihad Al-Shamie, 35, drove through the perimeter gates of the synagogue in Crumpsall before attacking worshippers with a knife. He was wearing what was later described as a fake suicide belt.

Melvin Cravitz died after being stabbed multiple times by Al-Shamie. The attacker was subsequently shot dead by armed police at the scene as he attempted to force his way inside the synagogue.

Adrian Daulby was also killed during the attack. According to the inquest evidence, a police bullet inadvertently struck him as he attempted to barricade the synagogue doors, causing a single but fatal gunshot wound.

The proposed public inquiry would allow the circumstances surrounding the attack and the deaths of the two men to be examined while providing a legal mechanism for sensitive national security material to be considered privately.

SOURCE: ITV Granada, September 14, 2026.