Man who detonated bomb outside Liverpool Women's Hospital ‘had grievance against British state’

A man who detonated a bomb outside a hospital had a grievance against the British state because his asylum claim was rejected, a police investigation has found.

Emad Al Swealmeen, 32, detonated the device, which he had made himself, while in a taxi outside Liverpool Women’s Hospital just before 11am on November 14 2021.

Driver David Perry managed to escape from the Ford Focus taxi following the blast, which killed Al Swealmeen.

The explosion, captured on hospital CCTV, propelled ball bearings forward through the vehicle to the extent the front windscreen was forced out and travelled 16 metres, where it hit a tree, and damage was caused to the windows of the hospital building.

Al Swealmeen, who detonated a bomb outside Liverpool Women's Hospital, had a grievance against the state for not accepting his asylum claim. Credit: PA Images

Detective Superintendent Andy Meeks, of Counter Terrorism Policing North West, told a briefing on Monday it was believed Al Swealmeen intended to go into the hospital and detonate the device, but it was likely that it exploded earlier than planned.

Det Sup Andy Meeks said: "There was fragments of unexploded material found at the car park. The outcome could have been a lot worse."

The investigation also concluded that there was no other location Al Swealmeen had targeted for the attack.

Det Sup Andy Meeks said: "There was a lot of speculation at the time that he was targeting the Anglican cathedral where there was a remembrance Sunday event taking place. There’s no evidence whatsoever of that."

A police report on the investigation said there was no evidence Al Swealmeen held extremist views.

It said: “It seems most likely that Al Swealmeen’s grievance against the British state for failing to accept his asylum claim compounded his mental ill health which in turn fed that grievance and ultimately a combination of those factors led him to undertake the attack.”

Aerial view of damaged car being removed by forensic officer after the explosion at the Liverpool Women's Hospital. Credit: PA Images

Mr Meeks said Al Swealmeen, who was born in Iraq, went to considerable lengths to stay in the country, including converting to Christianity, although the authenticity of his conversion was in doubt.

The report also said there was no evidence anyone else was involved in the attack.

Det Sup Andy Meeks said: "We’ve considered all possible avenues of how he might have communicated with others, and we’ve not found any evidence. There is a caveat in that that he did erase a lot of the content on his mobile phones"

The report said: "Al Swealmeen also took precautions to conceal his true intentions...

"Consequently, we will never truly know why Al Swealmeen took the actions that he did.

"We know that Al Swealmeen suffered from mental ill health before arriving in the UK and that this was likely exacerbated by factors in his life here, including his failed asylum claim and the absence of protective factors, such as close family, around him."