Theaustralian.com.au - The terrorist who brought carnage to Westminster was a Muslim convert and violent criminal known to the security services, it emerged last night, as the death toll rose to five.
Khalid Masood, 52, who stabbed PC Keith Palmer to death outside the Palace of Westminster after mowing down pedestrians on the nearby bridge, had had at least two spells in prison, raising concerns that he may have been radicalised behind bars.
Masood was born Adrian Elms in Dartford, Kent, and brought up by a single parent in the seaside town of Rye, East Sussex, before a religious conversion, sources confirmed. After he was shot dead, Islamic State hailed Masood as “one of its soldiers”.
He is believed to have hired a Hyundai 4x4 vehicle in Birmingham before driving to Brighton and staying in a hotel the night before the attack. He falsely gave his profession as a teacher, it was reported.
Masood was born Adrian Elms in Dartford, Kent, and brought up by a single parent in the seaside town of Rye, East Sussex, before a religious conversion, sources confirmed. After he was shot dead, Islamic State hailed Masood as “one of its soldiers”.
He is believed to have hired a Hyundai 4x4 vehicle in Birmingham before driving to Brighton and staying in a hotel the night before the attack. He falsely gave his profession as a teacher, it was reported.
Theresa May had earlier told the House of Commons that the terrorist had been a “peripheral” figure in a previous security services investigation but had not been part of the “current intelligence picture”. He is understood to have been investigated by MI5 over violent extremism several years ago but was considered a low priority. Scotland Yard said that “there was no prior intelligence about his intent to mount a terrorist attack”.
The Times understands that Masood spent time in Lewes jail, East Sussex, Wayland, Norfolk, and Ford open prison, West Sussex. He was sentenced to two years for wounding in 2000 and sent back to jail in 2003 after being given six months for possession of an offensive weapon. In the later incident, he stabbed a man in the nose outside a nursing home in Eastbourne after a row.
Raids were carried out yesterday across four areas of Britain as police hunted for potential accomplices of Masood, who was identified by Scotland Yard using his convert name.
Eight people associated with the terrorist, who has gone by a string of aliases including Khalid Choudry, were arrested. The three women and five men were being questioned by counter-terrorism detectives last night after raids in Sussex, London, Wales and the West Midlands.
The Metropolitan Police confirmed that the latest fatality was a 75-year-old man who had been injured on Westminster Bridge. His life support was turned off in hospital, police said. Kurt Cochran, 54, a sound engineer from Utah celebrating his 25th wedding anniversary, and Aysha Frade, 43, who taught Spanish at a London sixth-form college, were also killed on the bridge.
The murder of Mr Palmer, 48, stabbed to death by Masood within the grounds of the Houses of Parliament, was witnessed by Craig Mackey, acting head of the Met, who was leaving Westminster by car.
Forty people were injured in the attack, and 29 of them treated in hospital, including the older, unidentified man whose death was confirmed shortly after 9pm.
Raids were carried out yesterday across four areas of Britain as police hunted for potential accomplices of Masood, who was identified by Scotland Yard using his convert name.
Eight people associated with the terrorist, who has gone by a string of aliases including Khalid Choudry, were arrested. The three women and five men were being questioned by counter-terrorism detectives last night after raids in Sussex, London, Wales and the West Midlands.
The Metropolitan Police confirmed that the latest fatality was a 75-year-old man who had been injured on Westminster Bridge. His life support was turned off in hospital, police said. Kurt Cochran, 54, a sound engineer from Utah celebrating his 25th wedding anniversary, and Aysha Frade, 43, who taught Spanish at a London sixth-form college, were also killed on the bridge.
The murder of Mr Palmer, 48, stabbed to death by Masood within the grounds of the Houses of Parliament, was witnessed by Craig Mackey, acting head of the Met, who was leaving Westminster by car.
Forty people were injured in the attack, and 29 of them treated in hospital, including the older, unidentified man whose death was confirmed shortly after 9pm.
It also emerged yesterday that close protection officers working with Sir Michael Fallon, the defence secretary, had shot the killer. There were questions about how Masood was able to get through the Carriage Gates, one of the most closely guarded sites in the country. MPs attended parliament yesterday as a review of security began. The attack also prompted calls for police at sensitive sites to be armed.
Scotland Yard said that Masood was not the subject of any current investigations. He had convictions for assaults, including GBH, possession of offensive weapons and public order offences. Detectives believe that he was most recently living in the West Midlands.
Searches were carried out at three addresses in Birmingham and one each in east London, Brighton, southeast London and Carmarthenshire. A 39-year-old woman was arrested in east London and a 21-year-old woman and a 23-year-old man were held at one address in Birmingham. A 26-year-old woman and three men aged 28, 27 and 26 were arrested at another address in the city. They were all held overnight. A 58-year-old man was arrested yesterday at a third address in Birmingham.
The car rental company Enterprise confirmed that the Hyundai used in the attack was one of its vehicles.
Thousands of people attended a vigil in Westminster last night to commemorate the dead and wounded. Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London, told the crowd that “those evil and twisted individuals who tried to destroy our shared way of life will never succeed and we condemn them”.
Islamic State claimed yesterday that Masood was one of its “soldiers” but security sources and Amber Rudd cast doubt on those assertions. The home secretary told the BBC: “We all know Daesh [Isis], we all know that they want to have a terrorist attack in the UK. We know that Daesh have tried to claim some responsibility. We don’t know that yet but what we do know is that they want to exploit it by putting fear into people and saying it was all about them. We will see.”
A security source said that Islamic State “would use any murderer for their propaganda purposes”.
Scotland Yard said that Masood was not the subject of any current investigations. He had convictions for assaults, including GBH, possession of offensive weapons and public order offences. Detectives believe that he was most recently living in the West Midlands.
Searches were carried out at three addresses in Birmingham and one each in east London, Brighton, southeast London and Carmarthenshire. A 39-year-old woman was arrested in east London and a 21-year-old woman and a 23-year-old man were held at one address in Birmingham. A 26-year-old woman and three men aged 28, 27 and 26 were arrested at another address in the city. They were all held overnight. A 58-year-old man was arrested yesterday at a third address in Birmingham.
The car rental company Enterprise confirmed that the Hyundai used in the attack was one of its vehicles.
Thousands of people attended a vigil in Westminster last night to commemorate the dead and wounded. Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London, told the crowd that “those evil and twisted individuals who tried to destroy our shared way of life will never succeed and we condemn them”.
Islamic State claimed yesterday that Masood was one of its “soldiers” but security sources and Amber Rudd cast doubt on those assertions. The home secretary told the BBC: “We all know Daesh [Isis], we all know that they want to have a terrorist attack in the UK. We know that Daesh have tried to claim some responsibility. We don’t know that yet but what we do know is that they want to exploit it by putting fear into people and saying it was all about them. We will see.”
A security source said that Islamic State “would use any murderer for their propaganda purposes”.
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