Foster carers sue council for negligence over placement of Parsons Green bomber

A couple who fostered an 18 year old man who left a bomb on a Tube train at Parsons Green are to sue Surrey County Council for negligence and breach of their right to family life under the Human Rights Act.

Ahmed Hassan was jailed for life for the attack, which injured 51 people on 15 September 2017.

Ron and Penny Jones said Surrey had failed to tell them that in an immigration interview Hassan had said he had been “trained to kill by ISIS”.

They had fostered 269 children for Surrey but following a review into the Hassan case have been told they cannot foster any more.

The Joneses, who are crowdfunding their claim through Crowd Justice, said: “We took Ahmed into our house on the understanding that he had been captured by ISIS but he had escaped. Surrey County Council told us that he had tried to kill himself and would only be released if he was fostered into a stable home, so we took him in.  

“The day after the bombing, we were watching a game of darts on the telly when suddenly we had a phone call saying ‘this is the police, you are surrounded by armed police. Put everything down and leave the house now’.”

They added: “We feel like we have given up our lives to Surrey to foster kids and they have turned around and betrayed us. We have been scapegoated and hung out to dry for somebody else’s mistakes. 

“We want to make sure that no other foster carers are ever treated like we have been. This is about more than just our case, foster carer workers are misinformed every day by their local authorities. We believe in the transformative power of foster care. But to be done right it must be supportive to those of us who open our homes to children.”

The claimants have instructed Jocelyn Cockburn, a partner at law firm Hodge Jones & Allen, to bring the claim.

A spokesman for Surrey County Council said: "We are defending this claim however we acknowledge this has been a very difficult time for Mr and Mrs Jones and their family.

"We place a high value on openness with all our foster carers, share information about any risks with them from the outset and continue to keep them informed.

"This was our approach with Mr and Mrs Jones."