One of attackers in UK capital known to cops

ONE of the three attackers who killed seven people near London Bridge on Saturday night was previously investigated by British security services but had not been viewed as a serious threat, British police said yesterday.

Khuram Shazad Butt, 27, a British citizen born in Pakistan, was known to police and Britain’s domestic spy agency MI5, the Metropolitan Police said.

“However, there was no intelligence to suggest that this attack was being planned and the investigation had been prioritised accordingly,” the force said.

The second attacker was named as Rachid Redouane, 30, who police said claimed to be Moroccan and Libyan, and also went by the name Rachid Elkhdar with a different date of birth.

Both men lived in the same area of east London.

Police said they were still working to establish the identity of the third attacker.

British police are stretched by the number of people they believe could potentially commit an act of terrorism.

There are 500 current investigations involving 3 000 potential suspects.

“A small number of the highest-priority investigations involve current attack planning, and these investigations command a significant proportion of our resources,” police said.

Neighbours of one of the suspected assailants remembered him as a friendly family man and gym aficionado nicknamed “Abz”, who was seen in the van used in the attack just hours before.

The flat where the man reportedly lived, in the multi-ethnic area of Barking, was raided by police on Sunday and women in headscarves were taken out, their faces covered.

“We saw him many, many times around here,” driving instructor Salahudeen, 40, said.

Salahudeen lives near the groundfloor flat in a modern-looking block in the east London suburb.

“He used to be friendly but suddenly his attitude changed, he wasn’t acting as normal,” he said.

“He wasn’t aggressive. He used to chat but lately he was just ‘hi’ and ‘bye’.”

Another neighbour, Michael Mimbo, 25, said: “We call him ‘Abz’ at the gym.”

“The van he rented was here on Friday. It was blocking people from coming in.

“People were beeping their cars, saying: ‘Get out of the way’.”