Terrorists behind UK attacks had been ‘subjects of interest’

Review into intelligence at time of Westminster and Manchester atrocities

MI5 was “actively” investigating the ringleader of the London Bridge atrocity at the time of the rampage, while the Manchester bombing could have been stopped “had the cards fallen differently”, an official assessment has found.

It confirms that three terrorists involved in attacks that hit Britain between March and June had at some point been on authorities’ radar.

The UK’s security apparatus faced questions after dozens of victims were killed or injured in Westminster, Manchester, London Bridge and Finsbury Park.

MI5 and police launched independent reviews into what was known about the perpetrators before they struck and decisions made on intelligence.

An independent assessment of the findings by David Anderson QC concludes that there is “no cause for despair”, saying most attacks continue to be successfully disrupted.

But he notes that, other than in the case of Finsbury Park, it cannot be said that MI5 and police were “entirely blindsided”.

The report says: “Khalid Masood (Westminster) and Salman Abedi (Manchester) had both been subjects of interest, and Khuram Butt (London Bridge) remained under active investigation.

“Substantial and appropriate coverage was in place around key individuals, and mechanisms designed to assess risk were working as intended.

“MI5 and counter-terrorism policing got a great deal right; particularly in the case of Manchester, they could have succeeded had the cards fallen differently.”

In response to the findings, Home Secretary Amber Rudd said the blame for the attacks “lies squarely” with the terrorists.

Abedi was not under active investigation when he detonated a suicide device at Manchester Arena in May.

Picture: Rex. Police at the scene of the terrorist attack in Manchester earlier this year. The incident at the Ariana Grande pop concert and other atrocities in London resulted in dozens of people being killed or injured.