Violent Masood fell off police radar
BRITAIN: As long as a decade ago, Khalid Masood’s ‘‘violent extremism’’ had caused security services sufficient alarm to put him under investigation.
But by the time Masood, 52, went on the rampage on Thursday, driving a car at 80kmh along Westminster bridge, murdering three innocent pedestrians before plunging his knife repeatedly into a police officer guarding the Houses of Parliament, he had dropped off their radar.
Masood, a father of three, was no longer considered a threat.
Prime Minister Theresa May was quick to absolve her security services of blame.
‘‘His identity is known to the police and MI5 and, when operational considerations allow, he will be publicly identified,’’ she told Parliament. ’’What I can confirm is that the man was British- born and that – some years ago – he was once investigated in relation to concerns extremism.
‘‘The case is historic, he was not part of the current intelligence picture. There was no prior intelligence of his intent or of the plot. Intensive investigations continue,’’ May said.
Five hours later, police named him and detailed Masood’s long history of violent crime – but none for terrorism offences.
Masood was born on Christmas Day in 1964 in Kent but, crucially, had used a number of different aliases in the run-up to the attack. It is thought the terrorist changed his name to Masood, possibly after being radicalised.
The force was clear there had been ‘‘no prior intelligence’’ of Masood’s attack but admitted he had been ‘‘well known’’ to the about violent police for a convictions.
Masood, a burly body-building enthusiast, received his first conviction in November 1983 for criminal damage and his last one in 2003 for possession of a knife. In a 20-year criminal career he also received convictions for causing grievous bodily harm, possession of offensive weapons and public order offences.
It is understood Masood went to jail for his offences, where there is a good chance he was radicalised.
It is believed he came onto MI5’s radar then. A Whitehall source said he had been a person of interest but ‘‘peripheral’’ to a terror investigation.
Over the past five or six years, Masood, his wife, aged 39, and their young children, have been on string of previous the move. Electoral roll records show him living in areas notorious for pockets of Islamist extremism.
He lived for more than two years until 2013 in Luton where Anjem Choudary, an influential preacher now in jail for terror offences, had been a regular and often mob-handed visitor.
A former neighbour in Luton, Katie Garriques, 48, a former teacher, remembered a ‘‘polite, shy’’ and a ‘‘quite portly man’’ whom she often saw gardening at the front of the property and playing with his children.
When she saw the photograph of Masood having been shot in Westminster, she recognised him instantly. ‘‘I’m just saddened. I feel sick to be honest,’’ she said.
Monica, another neighbour in Luton, said she would only ever see him at night. ‘‘He was like a shadow, you wouldn’t often see him. He was often in Islamic dress, black clothes with a hat,’’ she said.
From Luton, Masood and his family moved to Forest Gate in east London.
In the past year, Masood and his family moved to Birmingham to a block of flats at Quayside in Winson Green.
Student Kaodi Campbell, 25, confirmed the man in the picture was her neighbour.
‘‘He had a job and you would see him leaving for work or taking his children to school. He always helped me.’’
Scotland Yard said yesterday it had made eight arrests, seven in Birmingham and one in east London of a 39-year-old woman.
– Telegraph Group