LONDON TERROR TOLL RISES TO 8
THE death toll from the London Bridge terror attack has risen to eight after police searching for a missing French man recovered a body from the River Thames.
Xavier Thomas is thought to have been struck by the terrorists’ van on the bridge.
THE death toll from the London Bridge terror attack has risen to eight after police searching for a French man missing since Saturday recovered a body from the River Thames.
Xavier Thomas, 45, is thought to have been struck by the terrorists’ van on the bridge and witnesses reported him being thrown into the water.
The body was recovered near Limehouse, downstream of London Bridge, at around 7.45pm yesterday by specialist officers from the marine police unit.
Scotland Yard said formal identification had not yet taken place, but Mr Thomas’ next of kin had been informed.
Meanwhile, UK authorities face new questions over how one of the London Bridge attackers was let into Britain despite being on a security watch list.
Youssef Zaghba had been flagged to British intelligence services after telling Italian police “I’m going to be a terrorist” when he was reportedly stopped trying to travel to Syria.
Italian prosecutor Giuseppe Amato said there was not enough evidence to arrest or charge the 22-year-old when he was caught at Bologna airport last year.
He said Zaghba was always tracked by Italian intelligence officers while in the country and that UK authorities were informed.
“We did everything we could have done, but there weren’t elements of proof that he was a terrorist,” he added.
The youngest of the attackers, an Italian national of Moroccan descent, he was allowed to enter the UK and had been living in east London.
Counter-terror agencies were already under intense scrutiny after it was revealed Khuram Shazad Butt, 27, and Rachid Redouane, 30, were also known to security services.
The trio killed seven and injured 48 in their rampage around London Bridge and Borough Market on Saturday night.
Zaghba’s mum said he became radicalised online, echoing concerns raised by Prime Minister Theresa May that the internet can be fertile ground for breeding extremism.
“We have always been checking his friendships and verifying that he was not trusting the wrong people, but he had the internet and from there he got everything,” Valeria Khadija Collina said.