Westminster terror attack probe: Crash suspect 'said he was in London to get a Visa' to visit Sudan

Westminster terror attack suspect Salih Khater told members of the Sudanese community he was travelling to London to obtain a visa to visit his homeland, officials at a Birmingham mosque have said.

Birmingham Central Mosque said members of the local community believed Khater may have travelled to London for an appointment to obtain a visa to travel to Sudan.

Khater was detained after a car crashed outside the Houses of Parliament at approximately 7.30am yesterday. A Ford Fiesta was seen mowing down 15 cyclists and pedestrians before crashing into a barrier.

A man and a woman were taken to hospital with non-life threatening injuries and have now both been discharged.

Speaking at a press conference, Chairman of Birmingham Central Mosque, Nassar Mahmood, said enquiries in the local Sudanese community suggested Khater did not worship at the mosque and had shown no signs of radicalisation.

Mr Mahmood said: “We are surprised, shocked and saddened by this incident at Westminster.

“We’d hoped we had seen the end of these kind of incidents and our thoughts and prayers are with the people who have been injured and their families.

“And we would caution against apportioning guilt and blame at this time because from our understanding the police are still questioning the suspect and have not charged him at this moment.

“Now, as far as our own enquiries from the local community, not only the people of the Masjid, of the Mosque, or the surrounding community and people from a similar background to this person, from the Sundanese community originally, we understand that this gentleman had his papers with him to renew his passport.

“He had shown no signs to any of the people that knew him that he was capable or he had some intention to do anybody harm. He was there to renew his passport and sort his paperwork out and that is as far as we know.”

Mr Mahmood added: "We made some enquiries within the Sudanese community around the mosque and the picture we are getting is that he was on his way to the Sudanese embassy.

"Some of them know him personally. He wasn't known to be a fervent worshipper and as far as we know he never attended the mosque here."

Community member Ali Mohamed told the news conference he understood that Khater had an appointment at the Sudanese embassy, less than a mile from Westminster.

The community leader said he was unaware of claims that relatives of Khater had died in a car crash in Sudan, telling reporters: "From what we know, he was a social person, he was a sportsman.

"He was trying to apply for a visa. We really don't know why he got into that incident."

Police have confirmed that the car involved in the incident had been driven around the Westminster area for several hours before eventually entering Parliament Square, where it swerved across a cycle lane and erratically left the road towards a protected pedestrian walkway. Security barriers stopped the car

Khater was described locally as an ex-student and keen footballer, is said to have told members of the community he planned to used his own car to drive to the capital a day before an apparent visa appointment, aiming to avoid an early morning journey on Tuesday.

The Met confirmed Khater is a UK national originally from Sudan.

He was arrested on suspicion of terrorist offences and remains in police custody.

He was further arrested on Wednesday on suspicion of attempted murder.

Additional Reporting from the Press Association.