London Bridge terrorists tried to hire lorry
London Bridge jihadists planned even more deadly attack, as police say van contained 13 petrol bombs
The three London Bridge terrorists attempted to hire a 7.5-ton lorry on the morning of their attack, but failed to make a payment for it in time, police have said. The attackers then turned to using a van and filled it with bags of gravel to make it more effective as a “battering ram”.
THE London Bridge terror attackers tried to hire a 7.5-ton lorry on the morning of the atrocity but were foiled when their payment did not go through, it can be revealed.
Police said Khurum Butt, the ringleader, made a booking with a haulage company, but the rental was cancelled when he failed to make the payment on time. Instead, the 27-year-old opted for a white Renault hire van, packing it with bags of gravel to make it heavier and give it more momentum as a “battering ram”.
Butt and his two accomplices, Rachid Redouane, 30, and Youseff Zaghba, 22, also loaded it with 13 Molotov cocktails, which police believe they intended to ignite after going on their stabbing spree.
A week on from the attack, which left eight people dead and 48 injured, police also revealed details of the highly unusual weapons used by the terrorist trio.
All three were carrying distinctive 12in bright pink ceramic knives, with leather strapping wrapped around the handle. Commander Dean Haydon, the head of Scotland Yard’s counter terror unit, said police did not know where the terrorists had obtained the knives, but said the ceramic blades could have been chosen because they could not be detected by metal detectors.
The terrorists had also used cord to strap the knives to their hands to ensure they did not drop them as they attacked innocent bystanders.
Mr Haydon said it remained a fastmoving investigation, but said police now had a clearer understanding of the movements of the terrorists on the day in question.
He said: “Butt had earlier tried to hire a 7.5-ton lorry but did not provide payment details and the rental never went ahead. My view at the moment is that he then went to plan B and ended up hiring the van instead.”
He appealed to haulage companies to inform the police if they came across people who were trying to hire lorries without the correct paperwork.
After being unsuccessful in his bid to hire a 7.5-ton truck, Butt, who was on bail for a fraud offence at the time of the attack, used a recently activated mobile phone to book the hire van, requesting it between the hours of 5.50pm on Saturday and 10am on the Sunday.
The three terrorists, who were all wearing hoax suicide vests, travelled together in a red Vauxhall Corsa from Barking in east London where they lived, to the Harold’s Hill area where they collected the van around 5.30pm.
They then returned to Zaghba’s home in Barking, before setting off for central London at 7.38pm, driving around the capital for more than two hours before arriving at London Bridge.
It is not clear what they were doing as they journeyed around in the van, but one theory being considered by police is that they were searching for a suitable target, before finally settling on London Bridge. They drove across the bridge from North to South at 9.58pm in what is thought to have been a reconnaissance run. Once across they turned around and travelled back the way they came, before turning around at the top and setting off on their final deadly journey, ploughing into pedestrians as they went.
Three of the eight who died were struck by the van, while the others were stabbed to death.
As well as bags of gravel in the back of the van, there were 13 wine bottles full of lighter fluid and primed with rags as fuses. Police also found two blow torches, which they believe the terrorists were planning to use to ignite the Molotov cocktails in a third part of their terrorist outrage, but they were shot dead by police before they were able to return to the van.
A total of 18 people have been arrested as part of the investigation and five remain in custody.
♦ A Manchester tattoo parlour that raised money for terror victims has come under fire after passing on donations to a sick local mother. Dozens of people got a tattoo at Inkspire in Rochdale to raise money for the cause. But the parlour caused uproar when it said a £1,285 donation had been made to a Samantha Smith, 30, who needs spinal surgery. Ms Smith has said she will forward the cash to the Manchester fund.