UK ATTACKER WAS TRYING TO GET JOB WITH WIMBLEDON SECURITY FIRM
LONDON: Pakistan-born British citizen Khuram Butt, the London Bridge attack ringleader, had been trying to get a job with a security firm that provides stewards for Wimbledon and other sporting events, raising concerns whether he had considered targeting the prestigious tennis tournament.
Security services and counter-terrorism police are now investigating 27-year-old Butt’s motive in trying to get the job with the security company, the
Telegraph reported today. Citing well-placed sources, the paper said that Butt had set up the job interview with the security firm that supplies safety stewards to Wimbledon and to Premier League football clubs. The interview was scheduled to take place at the end of this month.“one possibility is Butt had considered targeting the tennis tournament but decided to speed up the plot, following the Manchester Arena bombing, and switched the attack to London Bridge,” the paper said.
Butt had previously worked for six months on the London Underground until quitting in October. Although he was under low level investigation by MI5 and counter terrorism police, Butt was able to get a job working at Westminster station because employers are not made aware of security services’ concerns when performing criminal records checks, the paper said. “The security firm would check his background but it does not have access to the police watch list or have knowledge of any MI5 investigation. There would have been no reason for him not to get the job. Butt could not only have caused serious damage but potentially helped other terrorists to get into one of these events,” the paper said, quoting a source close to the intelligence services.
Butt and his aides Moroccan-origin Rachid Redouane and Moroccon-italian Yousef Zaghba rammed a high-speed van into pedestrians on London Bridge before stabbing rev- ellers at the nearby Borough Market, killing eight people before being shot dead by armed police officers last week.
Police have released images of the fake explosives belts worn by the men who carried out the London Bridge attack.
Khuram Butt, Rachid Redouane and Youssef Zaghba wore the belts as they stabbed people in Borough Market.
The officer leading the investigation said use of the belts was a “tactic” he had not seen before in the UK and one that created “maximum fear”.
The belts were still on the attackers, who murdered eight people, when they were shot dead by police. Each belt had three disposable water bottles covered in adhesive tape attached to them.
Commander Dean Haydon, of the Metropolitan Police, said anyone who had seen the belts on the night would have thought they were genuine.
“I have not seen this tactic in the UK before, where terrorists create maximum fear by strapping fake explosives to themselves,” he said. “It makes the bravery of those police officers and members of the public who tackled the terrorists even more remarkable.” Commander Haydon said it was hard to speculate what the motive had been for wearing the belts, but said the three attackers may have had plans for a siege or might have seen them as possible protection from being shot themselves.
The photos were released a day after police revealed that the attackers had tried to hire a 7.5 tonne lorry to run people over on London Bridge during the 3 June attack.