Brother-in-law’s tip-off on London Bridge killer wasn’t passed to police
THE ringleader of the London Bridge attack was investigated for two years – but the inquiry was wound down after a tip-off was ignored.
In June 2017, Khuram Butt and two accomplices killed eight people and injured 48 when they used a van to plough through pedestrians on the bridge and went on a knife rampage until being shot dead by police.
The inquest into the victims’ deaths heard yesterday that the probe by MI5 and counter-terrorism police was ended a month before the attack with investigators unaware that Butt’s brotherin-law, Usman Darr, had contacted the Met’s terrorism hotline with grave concerns about his behaviour.
Mr Darr called the hotline in September 2015 after he heard Butt, 27, praising Islamic State for killing a captured Jordanian pilot by burning him in a cage. He described how Butt had ‘become increasingly extreme in his views’ and was distributing anti-Western pamphlets and links to jihadi websites. But this crucial piece of intelligence was never passed on to the investigating team, the hearing at the Old Bailey was told.
A senior counter-terrorism police officer, known only as Witness M, told the court that MI5 started closing what was called Operation Hawthorn a month before the London Bridge attack because of an ‘absence of any intelligence’. It meant they never had a chance to question Mr Darr about his brother- in- law’s behaviour until after the attack.
Jonathan Hough QC, the counsel to the inquest, asked Witness M: ‘Would you accept that where you
‘Absence of any intelligence’
have the situation of a family member calling to express concerns about somebody who happens to be under investigation, it’s very unsatisfactory that the investigation team doesn’t hear of that report?’
Witness M replied: ‘In short, yes. It denied us the option of discussing that information with MI5, and how it fitted into the bigger picture, and denied us the option of what action to take subsequently to receiving that information.’
In the same month as the phone call, MI5 deemed Butt to be a ‘strong risk’ of staging a terrorist attack on his own. But at the time agents had no evidence of ‘attack planning’, it was said. He was found to be ‘aspirational’ in wanting to stage an attack but did not have the ability to do so.
Witness M also admitted that the security services were unaware of Butt’s close association with London Bridge accomplices Rachid Redouane, 30, and Youssef Zaghba, 22.
Investigators did not know that they plotted the attack at the Ummah Fitness Centre in Ilford, east London, which was run by a suspected member of the banned terror organisation al-Muhajiroun.
In early 2016, Butt appeared in a Channel 4 documentary called The Jihadis Next Door, but Witness M said that he was not ‘personally aware’ of it.
Later that year Butt was employed as a customer services assistant for London Underground on a salary of £23,000. One of his duties was to carry out security checks at Tube stations, including Westminster. But no action was taken by MI5 or police.
Witness M said he was aware that MI5 was closing the investigation into Butt and admitted he thought it was a ‘good idea’. He added: ‘In the absence of any intelligence to suggest that there was any offending, ongoing or being planned, I agreed with their assessment.’
The inquest continues.