Police knew identity of killer

ONE of the London Bridge terrorists was a known Islamist who had been reported to police several times for his extremist views.

The 27-year-old known as “Abz’’ is believed to have been born in Pakistan but raised in Britain and was apparently radicalised by watching YouTube videos of a hate preacher.

On Saturday night he and two other jihadists launched a deadly attack with a car and a knife, killing seven people and wounding 48 more.

Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the attack, the third in the UK in less than three months, saying through its Amaq propaganda outlet it had been carried out by one of its “sleeper cells’’.

The revelations that at least one of the attackers was known to authorities will heap further pressure on Britain’s security forces, which have already confirmed the perpetrators of the two previous terror attacks were known to them.

It will also raise difficult questions for Prime Minister Theresa May – a former home secretary for six years with responsibility for police resourcing – as the UK election looms on Thursday.

As 36 of the London victims remained in hospital last night, it was revealed 21 of them were fighting for their lives.