Yahoo News Westminster terror suspect named as 27-year-old Mohammed Khalid Omar Ali
The suspected jihadist arrested close to Downing Street with a backpack full of knives has been named as Mohammed Khalid Omar Ali.
The 27-year-old suspect was arrested after being apprehended by armed officers close to the scene of last month's terror attack in Westminster.
Police said the arrest was part of an ongoing counter terror investigation and security services said he had been under surveillance prior to the arrest.
It is understood the security services were tipped off by a member of his family after becoming concerned about his behaviour.
His arrest came just five weeks - and a 100 yards away - from the spot where Khalid Masood was shot and killed within the grounds of the Palace of Westminster, having mowed down bystanders in a hired car driven over Westminster Bridge.
Theresa May, who was on a tour of a factory in Chesterfield at the time, praised the police and security services for the operation.
Mrs May said: “It shows that our police and intelligence and security services are on the alert, as they always are, looking to keep us safe and secure.
“We owe a huge debt of gratitude to these people, many of whom are unseen, unheard, yet the job they do day in, day out to keep us secure is a really important one and we should thank them for it.”
A Whitehall source told The Telegraph that the man, who is understood to have been born overseas had been arrested as part on an “intelligence-led operation”.
He had been followed on the Underground and is thought to have surfaced at St James’s Park tube station before heading towards Westminster.
The source said: “He was under surveillance and he was stopped while walking away from Parliament Square and up Whitehall towards Downing Street.”
A senior policing source said: “He was being watched very closely. He had been travelling on the London Underground and we understand he had exited the Tube at St James’s Park station before walking in the direction of Whitehall and Number 10.
“At some stage an alert went out to all the teams in the area and the order was made to pick him up.”
Police said that as a result of the arrest there “is no immediate known threat”, suggesting there is no evidence the man was a member of a terror network but may have been acting as a ‘lone wolf’.
One of his hands appeared to be wrapped up in a bandage as four officers stood next to him.
On the ground lay a cheap rucksack, with the Union flag and the word ‘London’ emblazoned on it. A number of knives lay scattered on the ground. One appeared to be a large kitchen knife and another a flick-knife.
Two police forensic officers, wearing crime scene suits, combed through the evidence. They took photographs of the contents of the bag, before taking them away for further examination.
Several knives and what looked like paper or tissue were all put into a separate bag or box. When it came to the brown rucksack lying on the floor, the officer opened it ‘gingerly’.
It is not clear if police knew he was carrying weapons when the decision was made to stop him.
The Telegraph has been told the arrest was ordered because he was heading towards Downing Street, rather than any specific intelligence about the contents of the backpack. The man was on crossing of the central reservation of the busy street when armed officers moved in.
