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A former police inspector has explained why it takes so long to identify victims in the aftermath of a terror attack

Eight people were killed during the London Bridge attack (Picture: Reuters / Hannah McKay)
Eight people were killed during the London Bridge attack (Picture: Reuters / Hannah McKay)

A former police officer has explained the delay in identifying all eight victims of the London Bridge terror attack – and says that the amount of time it takes to identify a body is often linked with the complexity of the police operation.

Speaking to BBC News after the attack, former police inspector John Ramsbottom explained the complex process that authorities are forced to undertake.

Firstly, he explains that there are two key people involved – the Senior Investigating Officer and the Senior Identification Officer.

The Senior Investigating Officer is tasked with investigating the crime and extracting evidence that will help police draw a definitive conclusion about what happened that day.

People attend a vigil for victims of Saturday’s attack in London Bridge, at Potter’s Field Park in London, Monday, June 5, 2017. (Photo: Tim Ireland/AP)
People attend a vigil for victims of Saturday’s attack in London Bridge, at Potter’s Field Park in London, Monday, June 5, 2017. (Photo: Tim Ireland/AP)

Meanwhile, the Senior Identification Manager is responsible for recovering the dead and their eventual identification.

He then explains that every time a body part is removed from the scene, it must be properly bagged and logged – causing huge amounts of paperwork.

He said: ‘A large number of them are going to have fragments of the bomb in them, so we’ve got to gather from them forensic evidence as well as identification evidence.’

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The process, which can take up to ten days before identification is confirmed, also involves ensuring that no body parts are wrongly identified so that the body returned to families is as ‘pure’ as it possibly can be.

As for the process of identification, Ramsbottom says that there are only four ways to identify a body – through fingerprints, DNA records, dental records, or pacemakers/surgical implements with a unique serial number.

Wallets and identification cards, however, are not deemed to be sufficient.

Eight people were killed during the attack on Saturday night – with french national Xavier Thomas named as the latest victim after his body was pulled from the River Thames last night.