The Manchester synagogue terrorist’s phones revealed he held extremist views – but police failed to check them when they seized them months earlier after his arrest for other alleged crimes.Chief Constable Sir Stephen Watson said there is “little doubt” that the information contained on his phones would have inspired further investigative action, and admitted it was a “missed opportunity” and that the data on the phones would have pointed towards Jihad Al-Shamie’s extremist mindset.Al-Shamie, 35, was on bail at the time for an alleged rape, leading police to seize his devices as part of their investigation. He was shot dead by police as he targeted the place of worship in Heaton Park on Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar, last year.Flowers at the Heaton Park Hebrew Synagogue in Crumpsall, Manchester, after last year’s terror attack (PA)Melvin Cravitz, 66, and Adrian Daulby, 53, died after what police and government leaders condemned as a “vile” terrorist attack.Sir Stephen said the failure had come to light after an internal investigation by Greater Manchester Police (GMP), adding he is “deeply sorry” for the “added distress” for the families of those who died."In conducting an internal review, it became apparent that GMP had seized Al-Shamie’s mobile devices, at the point of each arrest. The significance of the data contents of these devices was substantial in respect of evidencing an extremist mindset,” he said."Regrettably, I can confirm that the significance of the information stored on Al-Shamie’s devices was not realised as they had not been examined before the attack took place on the 2nd of October 2025.”Mohammad Bashir, an associate of Al-Shamie, was jailed for life on Thursday (Greater Manchester Police)Sir Stephen added it was “clear” that the failure to review the devices was a “missed opportunity”: "There can however, be little doubt that the information contained within these devices would have inspired further investigative action. It is clear that our not having reviewed the data available to us prior to the attack constitutes a missed opportunity. "I am disappointed at the prospect of adding to the distress of all of those affected by the terrible events last October. For this, I am deeply sorry.”It comes after Mohammad Bashir, an associate of Al-Shamie, was jailed for life on Thursday for planning a mass attack of his own.Detectives found he had shared voicenotes and messages containing extremist Islamic content with Al-Shamie, and that the pair had travelled together to the UK Defence Academy (UKDA) on a reconnaissance mission to plan an attack.Seven weeks later, Al-Shamie chose the alternative target for the attack he carried out alone, while Bashir was in Pakistan. Bashir was quickly identified as an associate and arrested upon his return to the UK.Sir Stephen said he was able to share the information regarding the missed opportunities following the conclusion of legal proceedings against Bashir.He added the forthcoming inquests into the deaths of the two men murdered by Al-Shamie at the synagogue will examine “all aspects of the attack” and the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) is also conducting a review.He said it is for the IOPC and the coroner to determine the “impact” of police not reviewing the contents of Al-Shamie’s devices before the attack took place.