New arrest for man held over Parliament crash

A man detained after a car crashed outside the Houses of Parliament in a suspected terror attack has been further arrested for attempted murder, Scotland Yard said.

The 29-year-old British national of Sudanese origin, originally arrested on a terrorism charge after allegedly ploughing into cyclists and a security barrier, is called Salih Khater, a source confirmed.

His brother, Abdullah Khater, told the BBC he was a “normal person” and that their family, who are originally from Darfur, were in a “state of shock”.

Satisfied they know the identity of the man who was arrested, the Metropolitan Police said the priority of the investigation team continues to be to understand the motivation.

The force said officers have concluded searches at two addresses in Birming- ham and one in Nottingham, and continue to search a third in Birmingham.

Residents who knew Khater have described him as a quiet man who frequently visited the Bunna Internet Cafe on Stratford Road in Birmingham.

One customer, who would only give his name as Adam, said he had been served coffee by Khater and that he was a polite and apparently humble man.

“I am still in shock. I’ve known him for about a year and he is a very, very good man,” he said. “I can’t see it not being an accident.”

A police search is thought to have taken place about a mile from the cafe, at a tower block in the Highgate area.

Khater was previously an accountancy student at Coventry University, a spokesman said, confirming he attended between September last year and May.