Why was killer let into UK?
Italians tipped off Britain that London Bridge knifeman wanted to join Isis He told cops: ‘I’m going to be a terrorist’ after they stopped him on way to Syria
BRITISH authorities were warned about an Italian who took part in the London Bridge attack after he reportedly told police: “I am going to be a terrorist.” Youssef Zaghba, 22, was held at Bologna airport while attempting to travel to Syria on a one-way ticket last year, it’s said. Mohammed Shafiq, chief executive of the Ramadhan Foundation, last night questioned why the killer was let into the UK. He said: “It is deeply worrying. “If it’s not the Muslim community reporting these individuals to counter-terrorism police, it’s our allies across Europe. “Somebody who openly says he wants to become a terrorist, coming into the UK and getting a job and it doesn’t ring any alarm bells? How was he allowed in?
“If the Italians alerted the British authorities, they should have screened him and monitored him.”
Zaghba, Pakistan-born British citizen Khuram Butt and Rachid Redouane, 30, who claimed to be Moroccan-Libyan, launched a murderous rampage around London Bridge and Borough Market on Saturday night, killing seven and injuring dozens.
Butt and Redouane, who also used the name Rachid Elkhdar, lived in Barking. Zaghba was in nearby Ilford.
Their killing spree ended when armed police shot them dead just eight minutes after the first emergency call.
Thirteen people have been arrested in connection with the attack, with 12 released without charge.
Propaganda videos and religious sermons found on Zaghba’s phone confirmed his wish to join Isis in war-torn Syria. When asked why he was travelling to Turkey, he told police: “I’m going to be a terrorist.”
His mother Valeria Khadija Collina said yesterday: “He rang me last Thursday afternoon.
“I now know this was a goodbye call. He didn’t say much but it was in the sound of his voice.
“We joked about how he was going to pick me up at the airport in London. In 10 days, I was going there to celebrate the end of Ramadan with him.
“The next day, he didn’t reply any more. His father rang from Morocco to tell me he could no longer get hold of him. I asked a friend in London to
go to find him. He couldn’t find him anywhere.”
Valeria confirmed her son had tried to travel to Syria but insisted she had no idea of his plans.
She added: “For him, Syria was a place where you could live as a pure Muslim. I told him it was a fantasy. Unfortunately, I couldn’t change his mind.”
Valeria insisted her son was radicalised when he came to London last year and had shown no sign of supporting terrorism before. She added: “I was never happy with the area he lived in. He spent time with the wrong people.”
An Italian intelligence source said Zaghba had been acquitted of terrorism charges but was on a “persons at risk” list – similar to a UK “watch list”.
Italian officials tipped off the British authorities but Zaghba was apparently able to enter the UK and get a job in a London restaurant and the Marriott Hotel in Regent’s Park.
The Met Police have insisted Zaghba was not a “subject of interest” but the claims in Italy will raise further questions over why the London Bridge attackers weren’t under closer surveillance.
Counter-terror agencies are facing intense scrutiny after it was revealed Butt, 27, was under active investigation when he took part in the attack. The probe began in 2015 and, despite contact from members of the public concerned about his extremism, police found no evidence he was planning an attack and he was rated as a low priority.
Butt got a job on the Tube last year and had access to tunnels under the Houses of Parliament while working at Westminster station.
The dad of two appeared on Channel 4 documentary The Jihadis Next Door.
Perpetrators in all three of the terrorist outrages to hit Britain this year had been on the radar of security agencies.
Authorities there are 500 active investigations involving 3000 people, plus 20,000 former subjects of interest.
Eighteen plots have been stopped since 2013 – five since Westminster.
Last night, PM Theresa May said there should be an inquiry into the failings that led to the Manchester and London Bridge attackers going unstopped.