Terrorist sought security work
BRITAIN: The London Bridge terror ringleader had been trying to get a job as a security guard at Wimbledon.
Khuram Butt had set up a job interview with the firm that supplies safety stewards to the Grand Slam tennis tournament, as well as Premier League football clubs.
Security services and counterterrorism police are now investigating Butt’s motive in trying to get the job.
One possibility is Butt had considered targeting the tennis competition but decided to speed up the plot following the Manchester Arena bombing, and switched the attack to London Bridge.
Butt, 27, a father-oftwo, had previously worked for six months on the London Underground. Although he was under low-level investigation by MI5 and counter-terrorism police, he 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.
‘‘Butt could not only have caused serious damage but potentially helped other terrorists to get into one of these events,’’ an intelligence source said.
Scotland Yard has released photographs of the fake suicide belts Butt and his accomplices, Rachid Redouane and Youssef Zaghba, wore during the assault on London Bridge. The terrorists had attached water bottles to leather belts and covered them in silver masking tape.
Butt tried to hire a heavy lorry on the day of the attack but his credit card was declined.
Commander Dean Haydon, who is leading the investigation, said: ‘‘I have not seen this tactic in the UK before where terrorists create maximum fear by strapping fake explosives to themselves.
‘‘It is hard to speculate what the motive was for wearing the belts. It could be that they had plans to take the attack in to a siege situation or it might be that they saw it as protection from being shot themselves.
‘‘It makes the bravery of those police officers and members of the public who tackled the terrorists even more remarkable.
‘‘The belt would have been visible to them and if you are fighting back or aiming a shot at someone wearing the device, you would clearly be very aware that you could be caught in an explosion.’’
– Telegraph Group