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London Bridge attack: Third assassin 'was arrested last year trying to get to Syria but was still able to get into UK'

The third terrorist behind the London Bridge attack has been named as it emerged he was arrested last year trying to get into Syria, yet was still able to get into the UK.

Reports in the Italian media said Moroccan-Italian Youssef Zaghba was stopped in Bologna, his mother is Italian and still lives there.

Earlier it emerged the family home of Khuram Butt has been raided in Pakistan and the killer had worked at Westminster tube station and had access to tunnels under Parliament.

Khuram Butt, the London Bridge terrorist pictured working at West Kensington tube station in May 2016 - Credit: NOBLE/DRAPER
Khuram Butt, the London Bridge terrorist pictured working at West Kensington tube station in May 2016 Credit: NOBLE/DRAPER

Butt, a 27-year-old British citizen born in Pakistan, and Rachid Redouane, who claimed to be Moroccan-Libyan, carried out the deadly assault in which seven people died and dozens more were injured on Saturday night.

He once worked at Westminster tube station and had access to tunnels under Parliament.

Transport for London confirmed Butt worked for London Underground for just under six months as a trainee customer services assistant, leaving in October last year.

The third victim Kirsty Boden - Credit:  
The third victim Kirsty Boden Credit:

Meanwhile, the third victim of Saturday's outrage has been named as Australian Kirsty Boden. 

Her family said "she ran towards danger, in an effort to help people on the bridge".

Khuram Butt, left, and Rachid Redouane - Credit: Met Police
Khuram Butt, left, and Rachid Redouane Credit: Met Police

It also emerged Butt was a key contact of London bomber Mohammed Siddique Khan, as well as the hate preacher Anjem Choudary.

Britain's top counter-terrorism officer Mark Rowley said Butt was known to the security services, but there was no evidence of "attack planning" by him.

London terror attack - in pictures
London terror attack - in pictures

The father-of-two, who reportedly appeared on Channel 4 documentary The Jihadis Next Door, was investigated in 2015 but was part of a probe "prioritised in the lower echelons of our investigative work", Mr Rowley said.

The disclosure means that perpetrators in all three of the terrorist outrages to hit Britain this year had at some point appeared on the radar of authorities.

Butt, who reportedly went by the name Abu Zaitun, was known to neighbours by the nickname "Abs/z" and was allegedly an associate of radical hate preacher Anjem Choudary.

London Bridge attack raids and arrests
London Bridge attack raids and arrests

During the eight-minute long slaughter, the three knifemen ploughed into pedestrians on London Bridge using a van and went on to stab people in Borough Market with 12-inch knives.

The attackers, wearing fake suicide vests, were shot dead by eight officers after police unleashed a hail of 50 bullets upon them.

Thirty-six people remain in London hospitals, with 18 in a critical care.

As the nation collectively grieves following the third terror attack to hit the country in three months, a minute's silence will observed on Tuesday at 11am in memory of the victims.

12:04PM

'We're not kids in the playground': Sadiq Khan hits back at Donald Trump

Earlier today Mayor of London Sadiq Khan was asked on TV for a response to Donald Trump's tweets about in over the last couple of days.

He said he's too busy to get involved.

 

12:02PM

Police arrest another suspect in connection with the attack

A 27-year-old man has been arrested in Barking in connection with the London Bridge attack, Scotland Yard said.

12:01PM

First image of Youseff Zaghba

And here is the first image of the third attacker Youseff Zaghba, who is described as being aged 22 and, like the other attackers already named, from east London:

22-year-old Youssef Zaghba, from east London - Credit:  
22-year-old Youssef Zaghba, from east London Credit:

 

11:58AM

Emotional scenes during minute's silence

Following a series of important updates in the last hour to the London Bridge terror attack investigation, here are a few images of the minute's silence held at 11am in memory of the victims:

A woman reacts during a minute's silence held for the victims of the attack on London Bridge and Borough Market - Credit: REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne
A woman reacts during a minute's silence held for the victims of the attack on London Bridge and Borough Market Credit: REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne
Two people become emotional while looking at the flowers left on London Bridge - Credit: Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire
Two people become emotional while looking at the flowers left on London Bridge Credit: Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire
Workers observe a minute's silence for the victims of the attack on London Bridge and Borough Market at London Bridge Station, London - Credit: REUTERS/Marko Djurica
Workers observe a minute's silence for the victims of the attack on London Bridge and Borough Market at London Bridge Station, London Credit: REUTERS/Marko Djurica
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan stands with ambulance paramedics as they pause for a minutes' silence - Credit: ODD ANDERSEN/AFP/Getty Images
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan stands with ambulance paramedics as they pause for a minutes' silence Credit: ODD ANDERSEN/AFP/Getty Images
Police officers at the gates of Downing Street, central London, observing a minute's silence - Credit: Nick Ansell/PA Wire
Police officers at the gates of Downing Street, central London, observing a minute's silence Credit: Nick Ansell/PA Wire
People near the scene of the recent attack observe a minute's silence - Credit: REUTERS/Toby Melville
People near the scene of the recent attack observe a minute's silence Credit: REUTERS/Toby Melville

 

11:43AM

Zaghba had been placed on an Italian watchlist

More background on Youseff Zaghba, the third London Bridge terrorist, who was arrested last year at Bologna airport trying to get to Syria

According to reports in the Italian press, Zaghba, grew up with his parents in Morocco until they split when he was a child.

He then regularly stayed with his father but regularly visited his Italian mother at her home just outside the northern city of Bologna.

He was there last year and after telling his mother he was going to Rome, bought a one way ticket to Istanbul.

Carrying only a rucksack, he was stopped by Italian security services at the airport and was arrested on suspicion of trying to make his way to Syria.

Italian police seized his mobile phone and found a large amount of religious content, but nothing that necessarily suggested an interest in jihad.

But it has also emerged that he had been placed on an Italian watchlist for potential terrorists after his behaviour raised concern with the intelligence services.

11:34AM

Geoff Ho: The b-----d in the Arsenal shirt came at me first

Geoff Ho, the business editor of the Sunday Express who risked his life on Saturday night to save others, has also made this statement in a blog post:

Thank you for all the support I have received but first and foremost I would like the request that the privacy of my family and friends is respected.

Also thank you to the Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel for taking such good care of me.

I would like to extend my wishes to everyone who has been affected, especially to the family and friends over those still missing.

I would like to clarify some of the events of Saturday night. I was involved in two separate incidents on Saturday night.

I had just left the Wheatsheaf pub and saw two people attacking the bouncer. He was on his own and I held off the unarmed attackers until the police arrived. At that point I thought “job done, now for beer and food”.

I went the five doors down the street to Black & Blue. Within 2 minutes of my leaving the Southwark Tavern and posting “not on my watch” on Facebook, the terrorist attackers arrived at the restaurant.

Most of my friends and the staff hid under tables but my one of my friends was frozen behind me. I knew I had to face the attackers down, they were armed and I had the best chance of delaying them until the police arrived or they’d get everyone.

I had to shield my friends and the people there. Then I noticed they had suicide vests on. I tried to slow them, they attacked. It happened so quickly. The b-----d in the Arsenal shirt came at me first. I think I got a hit in on one of him, but either he or his accomplice got me with a shot to the throat.

They got my friend who was behind me with a minor stab wound in the face and hands and ran off. I picked up my friend and bundled him into the store room. I called the police and within moments they arrived. I gave the police descriptions of the three and we were evacuated.

Also, I want to make it clear that many of my friends are Muslim. The people who attacked me were not representative of Islam. I stand in solidarity with my Muslim brothers and sisters.

Thank you again for all the support I have received. My friends are currently fundraising in my name for the British Red Cross and London Air Ambulance and you can donate here:

https://www.gofundme.com/geoff-ho-hero-fundraiser

My doctors have assured me that I will make a full recovery and after that I will talk to media. But I have to emphasise — my family and friends have been through enough. Please respect their privacy.

Let’s let the healing begin. LONDON STRONG!!!

11:22AM

BREAKING NEWS: Third victim named as Kirsty Boden

The Met Police have issued this statement today on behalf of the family of Kirsty Boden:

Kirsty was loved and adored by her family, friends and boyfriend. She was the most outgoing, kind and generous person who loved to help people. Helping people was what she loved to do in her job as a nurse and in her daily life.

As she ran towards danger, in an effort to help people on the bridge, Kirsty sadly lost her life. We are so proud of Kirsty’s brave actions which demonstrate how selfless, caring and heroic she was, not only on that night, but throughout all of her life. Kirsty – we love you and we will miss you dearly.

We will not be making any further comments on this tragedy and ask everyone, especially the media, to give us the privacy we need to grieve away from the public eye.

Kirsty Boden - Credit:  
Kirsty Boden Credit:

 

11:04AM

BREAKING NEWS: Third attacker named in Italian media

Moroccan-Italian Youssef Zaghba is London's third assassin, it is reported.

Reports in the Italian media said he was stopped in Bologna, his mother is Italian and still lives there.

More to follow.

11:03AM

And it is over

The scene at London Bridge:

The minute's silence - Credit: SKY NEWS
The minute's silence Credit: SKY NEWS

 

10:59AM

Minute's silence

The minute's silence is about to start.

10:56AM

Amber Rudd hits back at Boris Johnson's comments

Home Secretary Amber Rudd said it was not for her or Mr Johnson to assess how Butt slipped through the net.

"It's not really for me or for the Foreign Secretary to say how that happened or what happened," she told BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour.

"It's like any incident, you will look and find out whether there is something to learn. I can say with absolute confidence that they will want to do that, but I can say that without, I hope, putting any sort of suggestion of blame because it's very easy to rush in and say 'what went wrong?'.

"There were some fantastic elements of this where the counter-terrorism policing and security services worked incredibly closely and effectively.

"But as we have seen in the past three months, there has been a step up in attacks against us from the enemy, and we need to make sure that we improve, make changes, do more to counter extremism as we go forward."

10:46AM

Boris Johnson caught out on air

Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson was caught out on air when he criticised Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn for opposing anti-terror laws that he also voted against.

Mr Johnson used a series of morning interviews to counter criticism from Labour over security failings, saying it was "weird" for Mr Corbyn to intervene as he had consistently opposed anti-terror laws.

BBC presenter Mishal Husain pointed out that Mr Johnson and Theresa May had opposed key terror laws, and Mr Johnson voted against controversial measures to detain terror suspects for up to 90 days in 2005.

It came after Mr Johnson ramped up pressure on the security services by saying the public were right to ask how one of the London Bridge attackers "slipped through our net", after it was revealed that Khuram Butt, 27, was reported to authorities in 2015.

10:34AM

Second killer Rachid Redouane 'was not known to Irish police'

As detail continues to emerge about Khuram Butt, so far very little has been found out about Rachid Redouane, the other terrorist named by police.

Rachid Redouane - Credit: PA
Rachid Redouane Credit: PA

We did know the Moroccan-Libyan pastry chef, 30, had an Irish identity card and until recently been living in Dublin. Questions were then raised about how he entered the UK.

Sky News are now reporting Redouane was not known to the PSNI and there is no evidence he crossed Ireland's land border to enter the UK.

Redouane had used the pseudonym Rachid Elkhdar, and reportedly spent time living in a tower block in Dagenham in east London, not far from the home in Barking of his fellow attacker.

10:26AM

Boris Johnson says terrorism is a 'hydra- headed problem'

After his appearance on BBC Breakfast this morning, Boris Johnson has also been speaking on Sky News.

He acknowledged that people would be asking "How on earth could we have let this guy or possibly more through the net?".

He said:

What we are also doing though is tackling this particular scourge, this threat from Islamisist nutters and scumbags, and the way to do that is to invest in counter-terrorism and we're putting 30% more, £500 million more into SIS (Secret Intelligence Service), into GCHQ, into MI5, because they are at the front line of that work.

People are going to look at the front pages today and they are going to say how on earth could we have let this guy or possibly more through the net, what happened?

How can he possibly be on a Channel 4 programme and then committing atrocities like this, and that is a question that will need to be answered by MI5, by the police as the investigation goes on.

I can't answer that question now. What I can say is that we are not only going to invest in our counter-terrorism but we are also looking at, as the Prime Minister said, as Theresa said on Sunday, we're looking at a range of intensified measures to tackle this hydra- headed problem.

9:56AM

Khuram Butt's gym: It is important we all stand united

More on the man who appears to have been the ringleader of the London Bridge killers.

Khuram Butt had trained at the Ummah Fitness Centre in St Luke's Avenue, Ilford.

A statement posted on the gym's door said: "We at UFC gym are shocked and saddened by the events that occurred at London Bridge and Borough on Saturday night. There is never any justification for indiscriminately killing civilians.

"We have hundreds of people training at UFC gym each week. We are a welcoming and open part of the community.

"While Mr Butt did occasionally train here at UFC gym we do not know him well nor did we see anything of concern, we will of course help the police in any way we can.

"In these challenging times it is important we all stand united. We must avoid scapegoating any part of the community."

9:39AM

Sadiq Khan; The security services will be responding to questions

London Mayor Sadiq Khan appeared on ITV's Good Morning Britain today and was asked whether other individuals featured on The Jihadis Next Door might now become subject to closer investigation.

Mr Khan told ITV1's Good Morning Britain: "We've got to be careful what we talk about in a public debate, but I can reassure you the police and security services have seen the legitimate questions raised by the media and they will be responding."

London Mayor Sadiq Khan, Piers Morgan and Susanna Reid - Credit:  Ken McKay/ITV/REX/Shutterstock
London Mayor Sadiq Khan, Piers Morgan and Susanna Reid Credit: Ken McKay/ITV/REX/Shutterstock

Mr Khan said that "over half" of the 400 Britons who are believed to have returned to the UK after fighting in Syria are thought to be in London.

He told GMB:

I can't follow 400 people. What we can do is make sure that we have the resources for the police.

The Metropolitan Police budget - 15%-20% of it comes from me, the Mayor, the rest comes from the Government.

If the Metropolitan Police budget is being shrunk and reduced, they have got to prioritise and use their resources in a sensible way.

The three men responsible for the attack on Saturday night hadn't come from overseas, they were to all intents and purposes integrated into our national life. One of them was an Arsenal fan.

The job of the police is not simply following those who come from Syria and Iraq and other places around the world, but also making sure they are keeping an eye on those people who are here. But that means we have to get them the resources they need.

9:35AM

Minute’s silence at 11am

A minute’s silence will be held to remember the victims of the London Bridge attack this morning at 11am.

The event will be marked across the country and at all government buildings where flags will fly at half-mast until this evening.

Announcing the minute’s silence, the government said: "The silence will be marked at all government buildings and other organisations may follow suit.

"Flags will remain at half-mast on Whitehall government buildings until Tuesday evening."

8:30AM

Boris Johnson: It is right to question how killer slipped through our net

People are right to ask questions about how one of the London Bridge attackers "slipped through our net", Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson has said.

Security services have come under pressure after it was revealed that Khuram Butt, 27, had appeared on Channel 4 documentary The Jihadis Next Door and had also been reported to the anti-terror hotline in 2015.

Mr Johnson acknowledged the concerns as he took aim at criticism from Labour over cuts to policing, saying blaming police resources for the attacks "detracts from the responsibility of these scumbags"

He told BBC Breakfast: "People are understandably right to look at photographs in today's papers of the TV show that this guy was in and to ask what happened, how did this person slip through our net in the way that he seems to have done?

"I can't really comment much about that because there is a live ongoing investigation, but one point I would make for all our viewers is it is very important that we look at this issue, when we look at policing, that we don't take the focus on responsibility away from the people who did it, from the terrorists."

8:18AM

Butt's accomplices: Who were they?

Unlike Butt, his accomplices were not known to the security services and are both thought to be foreign nationals.

The second terrorist was named as Rachid Redouane, 30, who police said had claimed to be both Moroccan and Libyan.

Khuram Butt who appeared on a Channel 4 documentary about Islamic extremists - Credit: Channel 4
Khuram Butt who appeared on a Channel 4 documentary about Islamic extremists Credit: Channel 4

He was also known to use the name Rachid Elkhdar, and was understood to be in possession of an Irish identity card when he was shot dead by police. Redouane, who was married to a British woman and had a daughter with her, is thought to have lived in Dublin previously. It was not clear when or how he arrived in the UK.

Redouane, a chef, was seen visiting his wife, Charisse, only three hours before he and his two accomplices carried out the attack, neighours said.

He and his wife are reported to have split up over their differing views on religion, after they clashed over the best way to raise their child.

Police said while they believed they knew who the third terrorist was they were still working with international partners to formally identify him.

The disclosure that he is not British will raise questions about how recently he moved to the UK and under what circumstances he had entered the country.

7:59AM

BREAKING NEWS: Khuram Butt's home in Pakistan raided

The Telegraph's Colin Freeman has this:

This morning, dozens of plain clothes officers in Pakistan searched a restaurant of one of Khuram Butt's relatives in the city of Jhelum, 60 miles south east of Islamabad. 

The officers - believed to be from the all-powerful Inter Service Intelligence agency, which is Pakistan's answer to M15 - were seen by a Telegraph reporter outside premises thought to belong to Nasir Butt, a well-known businessman in the area.

One official at the scene told The Telegraph that British officials had said that they suspected Khuram Butt had been radicalised in the UK rather than in Pakistan, but that they were carrying out searches of relatives' houses as precaution.

"Our British counterparts told us they don't think he was radicalised here, and we think it is probably more likely that he was trained in Syria. But we are searching the homes of any relatives connected to him and we are tracing all telephone calls made by family members," the official said.

Butt, 27, from Barking, is believed to have been born in the Jhelum area. His father, Saif, is believed to have owned a furniture shop in Jhelum before emigrating to the UK in 1988 with his family.  

Jhelum lies in a part of Pakistan where many members of the British-Pakistani community originally hail from. The nearby city of Mirpur, in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, is known as "Little England" due to its large British Pakistani community.

Read more here

7:54AM

Butt worked at Westminster tube station and had access to tunnel

Further details have emerged overnight about the two terrorists who have been named, Khuram Shazad Butt and Rachid Redouane.

It is reported this morning that Butt worked at Westminster Tube station and had access to tunnel under the Houses of Parliament - despite being known to police and MI5 and featuring in a TV documentary about British jihadis.

Khuram Butt - Credit:  
Khuram Butt Credit:

Butt also worked at Canada Water station in the Docklands before he was reportedly sacked for poor attendance.

Transport for London said Butt had worked there from May to October last year. Last night a spokesman for TfL declined to comment. 

The Times said the group did a "dry run" minutes before the attack- checking traffic, number of potential victims and whether police were in the area.

Commuters walk in the rain past a security barrier installed between the pavement and the road on London Bridge - Credit: JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP/Getty Images
Commuters walk in the rain past a security barrier installed between the pavement and the road on London Bridge Credit: JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP/Getty Images

Butt had worked at the Ummah Fitness Centre, which was run by Sajeel Shahid, who is suspected of running weapons training in Pakistan for the 7/7 bombers.

He is said to be a key contact of London bomber Mohammed Siddique Khan, as well as the hate preacher Anjem Choudary.

The paper also reports that Butt's brother Saad was involved in fight against terror. He had received funding from police as part of his involvement with the Prevent programme to combat extremism.

A commuter shelters from the rain beneath an umbrella as she passes floral tribute placed at the base of The Monument in London - Credit: JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP/Getty Images
A commuter shelters from the rain beneath an umbrella as she passes floral tribute placed at the base of The Monument in London Credit: JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP/Getty Images

He was a member of the Young Muslims Advisory Group (Ymag), after applying for the role in 2009 and going through a number of background security checks - set up so the government could “engage” with young Muslims after the July 7 bombings.

Along with the other members, Saad Butt met the two ministers every three months to be a “critical friend” to the government.

He contributed to a report published through the Office of Public Management called "It’s a two-way thing — Improving communication between young people and government" in 2010.

When the Coalition government cut funding to Ymag that year, a company was set up to complete research the group was carrying out for the Association of Chief Police Officers — now the National Police Chiefs Council — on young Muslims’ disaffection with the police.

It was registered to Mr Butt’s family home near Forest Gate. Along with another former Ymag member, Mr Butt was paid to finish the research. 

Mr Butt and his colleague were paid “under £10,000” by Acpo to finish the police research.

7:35AM

The latest on the victims

A Londoner, a Canadian woman and a French national were among those who were killed in Saturday night's attack in the capital.

These are the victims who have been confirmed as dead:

  •  James McMullan, 32, from Hackney, was last seen outside the Barrowboy And Banker pub and his sister said police have told her his bank card was found on a body at the scene of the attack.

  • Canadian Christine Archibald, 30, was the first to be named. She died in her fiance's arms after being struck by the speeding van on London Bridge.

  •  A French citizen was also killed, foreign affairs minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said. The victim has not yet been named but French newspapers reported that he was from St Malo, Brittany, and worked in a bar in the London Bridge area.

The five missing after the London attack - Credit:  
The five missing after the London attack Credit:

Five people were reported missing and have not been seen since the attack:

  • Sebastien Belanger has not been seen since the attack, his girlfriend Gerda Bennet said on Facebook. His friends have set up a page on the social networking site in an attempt to find him.

  • Xavier Thomas and his girlfriend, Christine Delcros, are said to have both been victims. Nathalie Cros Brohan said on Facebook her sister Ms Delcros was injured and taken to hospital, while Mr Thomas is yet to be found.

  • Australian Sara Zelenak's friends have appealed for help to find her on social media. Pri Goncalves said on Facebook she was the last person to see her on Saturday night.

  • Family members have appealed on social media to trace Spaniard Ignacio Echeverria, 39. Joaquin Echeverria wrote on Facebook he had been seen "defending someone with his skateboard".

Dozens of others were injured, including four police officers:

  • A British Transport Police (BTP) officer was stabbed in the head, face and leg after taking on the knifemen armed only with his baton.

  • An off-duty Metropolitan Police officer was in hospital with serious injuries after he confronted the attackers with no weapon.

  • Two other Met officers, who were both on duty, received less serious injuries during the rampage.

  • New Zealander Oliver Dowling, 32, from Christchurch, is reported to have been left in a coma after being stabbed in the face, neck and stomach. It was reported his girlfriend, Marie Bondeville, was also injured.

  • Sunday Express business editor Geoff Ho was left in intensive care after being stabbed in the throat when he tried to help a wounded bouncer.

  • Two Australians were stabbed in the neck while prime minister Malcolm Turnbull said the government had "very real concerns" about another two citizens who may have been caught up in the attacks.

  • Candice Hedge is recovering in St Thomas' Hospital, while Andrew Morrison received stitches for a wound and was on his way home to Australia.

  • Seven other French nationals were taken to hospital, four of whom were in a critical condition, Mr Le Drian said.

  • Daniel O'Neill, 23, was left with a 7in wound from his stomach to his back and was saved by a friend who applied a tourniquet and took him downstairs in a pub.

7:19AM

Property searched in Ilford

Scotland Yard say counter-terror officers are searching a property in Ilford, east London, after entering the address at around 1.30am.

No arrests had been made as part of the search, the force said.