On 26 June 2022, Zara Aleena was sexually assaulted and murdered as she was walking home in Ilford, East London, by Jordan McSweeney.
The Metropolitan Police conducted an internal review after reports were published that McSweeney had been convicted 28 times for 69 earlier offences, including nine separate spells in prison, and ought to have been recalled.
[2] On 18 November 2022, in court at the Old Bailey, McSweeney admitted the murder and sexual assault of Zara Aleena via videolink and pleaded guilty to the charges made against him.
[8] In January 2023, the Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak said the murder was a "terrible crime", and announced the government would take urgent action to review how McSweeney was incorrectly assessed for medium risk.
[12] At the appeal, McSweeney's barrister Carter-Stephenson KC, said the sentencing judge had misevaluated the "aggravating features" in the case, arguing that although there was an accepted sexual motive to the crime, the murder itself was not premeditated, telling the court "the attack was an opportunistic act rather than anything that was planned in advance.