Eight people arrested over London terror attack, police confirm

Police said the Kent-born man who moved to the West Midlands was also known by a number of aliases including Khalid Choudry.

The married father of three has been described as an English teacher and convert to Islam who was a “fitness freak” and into bodybuilding, according to Sky News.

Police said he was not the subject of any current investigations and there was nothing to suggest he had intended to mount a terror attack.

“He has not been convicted for any terrorism offences,” police said.

“However, he was known to police and has a range of previous convictions for assaults, including GBH, possession of offensive weapons and public order offences.”

“His first conviction was in November 1983 for criminal damage and his last conviction was in December 2003 for possession of a knife.”

KNOWN TO POLICE

UK Prime Minister Theresa May said the British-born terrorist was a “lone-wolf” who was investigated by police and MI5 “some years ago”.

“He is not part of current intelligence picture,” she told parliament on Thursday.

“It’s still believed that this attacker acted alone and there is no reason to believe there are imminent further attacks.”

It comes as The Sun reports Masood was shot dead by the personal security guard for the UK Defence Secretary, Michael Fallon, raising questions about security at the site.

London’s Metropolitan Police said the attacker was shot by “armed police” at the scene in what is being treated as a firearms incident.

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It has also emerged that gates to Parliament house where open because acting Metropolitan Police Commissioner Craig Mackey was inside and about to leave.

Commissioner Mackey confirmed he witnessed the events, including the attack on PC Palmer.

“As with all police officers, I therefore had a duty to secure my evidence and produce statements yesterday evening, which I did before resuming my role leading our response to this incident,” he said.

 

Emergency services have been praised for their response to the crisis, however an investigation will be conducted as to how the attacker was able to mow down innocent pedestrians and enter Parliament grounds just below Big Ben.

“The entrance is guarded by armed officers but, unlike other parts of Parliament, there is no elaborate chicane,” the BBC’s Home affairs correspondent Dominic Casciani wrote.

“There will be inevitable questions about whether this entrance was appropriately protected - but given the rudimentary nature of this man’s murderous plan, it would not have stopped him trying.”

Labour MP Mary Creagh described the Carriage Gates as “one weak spot” at Westminster.

“I think we will need to look at security at the Palace in the wake of this incident but this is a plan for another day. It’s a terrible, terrible day for Parliament,” she said.

Security expert Colonel Richard Kemp, who is a former commander of UK forces, told MailOnline the attacker “shouldn’t have been able to get in.”

“This shows there must have been a lapse in security with big consequences. People will have questions to answer.

“It is such a high profile target and they should consider there is permanent coverage of armed police at the main gates,” he said.

‘SOLDIER OF THE ISLAMIC STATE’

Islamic State has claimed responsibility, calling the perpetrator a “soldier of the Islamic State” in a release from their Amaq news agency.

Mrs May said the UK threat level would remain at “severe” rather than “critical” which indicates specific intelligence of a terror plot.

Speaking after a minute’s silence in Parliament as forensic officers searched the cobblestones on their hands and knees outside, Mrs May called the event an “attack on free people everywhere”.

“We are not afraid and our resolve will never waver in the face of terrorism,” she said.

 

 

EIGHT ARRESTED IN OVERNIGHT RAIDS

Eight people have been arrested over the London terror attack in raids at six addresses in London, Birmingham and elsewhere in the UK.

Metropolitan Police Acting Deputy Commissioner Mark Rowley confirmed the arrests were made in connection with the Westminster attack that killed four people and left 29 injured.

He said “hundreds of detectives have been working through the night”. Footage taken in the early hours of Thursday morning shows armed police outside a flat in Birmingham.

Commissioner Rowley said the perpetrator acted alone and was “inspired by international terrorism”.

INJURED FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD

Four people died in the attack and 29 were injured.

Prime Minister May said in addition to the 12 Brits hospitalised, people from another 10 nationalities were caught up in the attack. They include three French children, two Romanians, four South Koreans, one Chinese, one Italian, one German, one Polish, one Irish, one American and two Greeks.

Those injured include three police officers returning from an event held in Parliament to recognise their bravery.

 

 

 

 

 

‘BUSINESS AS NORMAL’

Commissioner Rowley said it would be “business as normal” in London today with MPs returning to Parliament. Police and MPs held a minute’s silence this morning to honour the slain policeman.

A large cordon remains around the scene as forensic officers remove evidence in bags from Westminster Bridge.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan said a vigil would be held in Trafalgar Square at 6pm on Thursday.

“London is the greatest city in the world. We will never be cowed by terrorism. We stand together in the face of those who seek to harm us and destroy our way of life. We always have and we always will,” he said.

 

VICTIMS NAMED

Four people died in the attack, including Aysha Frade, a 43-year-old mother of two. The Spanish woman, who lived in London, was en route to pick up her children when she was caught up in the attack.

Metropolitan policeman Keith Palmer, 48, who was also a father, was killed when the attacker came at him with a knife.

An unnamed man in his 50s and the perpetrator were also killed.

 

 

 

 

Police officers are briefed as they carry out their ongoing investigation outside the Houses of Parliament. Picture: AFP/Justin TallisSource:AFP

 

 

South Australian woman Trish Neis-Beer was injured by the car on Westminster Bridge.

The German national, who lives in Adelaide, was travelling in Europe and England when she was caught up in the attack.

She works at the popular Organic Market Cafe in Stirling, in the Adelaide Hills, and also owns an online vintage fashion and crafts store called Retro and Roses.

In late February she posted on her website: “My shop will be closed until the 10th May! The travel bug has beckoned and I am travelling around England and Europe to visit my daughter and family. Please view my sold items to get a feel for the items in my store. Feel free to visit my Facebook and Instagram @RetroandRoses if you wish to follow my travels. Many thanks, Trish.”

 

The husband of slain UK MP Jo Cox pleaded for unity in the wake of the attack.

“I don’t care about the name of the attacker. This is the name I will remember,” Brendan Cox tweeted with a picture of PC Keith Palmer.

“The person who did this wants us to be fearful and divided. Let’s show them that we are neither #DefeatTerrorTogether.”

UK Prime Minister Theresa May condemned the “sick and depraved” attack and said it was “no accident” that Westminster was chosen.

“The terrorists chose to strike at the heart of our capital city, where people of all nationalities, religions and cultures come together to celebrate the values of liberty, democracy and freedom of speech,” she said.

“But let me make it clear today, as I have had cause to do before: any attempt to defeat those values through violence and terror is doomed to failure.”

victoria.craw@news.com.au