Terrorist hoped to use lorry for bridge slaughter
THE RINGLEADER of the London Bridge terrorist attacks tried to hire a 7.5-tonne lorry hours before the atrocity but was only thwarted when his payment was declined.
Detectives suspect the carnage inflicted by the terror gang could have been even worse if Khuram Butt had got his hands on the vehicle.
Instead he resorted to “plan B” and rented a white Renault van which ploughed into pedestrians as the perpetrators launched their deadly rampage last Saturday night, killing eight victims and injuring dozens more people. After leaving the vehicle, the terrorists used 12-inch ceramic knives in a stabbing spree.
It was also disclosed that multiple petrol bombs were discovered in the van used in the outrage, while a copy of the Koran opened at a page “describing martyrdom” was discovered in the east London bolthole where the three men plotted the attack.
Commander Dean Haydon, the head of the Metropolitan Police’s Counter-Terrorism Command, revealed that Butt had attempted to hire a lorry on the morning of the attack, and said: “Because of the fact his payment method failed he couldn’t get hold of that lorry. My view at the moment is that he then went to plan B and ended up hiring the van instead.”
The van travelled over the bridge twice before it was driven at speed at pedestrians.
Investigators believe three victims were killed on the bridge – including one man who was thrown into the Thames – before the attackers left the vehicle and stabbed five people to death around Borough Market. Police believe Butt was driving the van.
Mr Haydon said: “When I come back to Butt trying getting hold of a 7.5-tonne lorry – the effect could have been even worse.”
The potential for large vehicles to inflict mass casualties was laid bare in horrifying fashion last year when a lorry drove through crowds gathered to celebrate Bastille Day in Nice, killing 86 people and injuring scores more.
Butt, a 27-year-old Pakistaniborn British citizen, and his two accomplices, Rachid Redouane, 30, who claimed to be Moroccan-Libyan, and Youssef Zaghba, a 22-year-old Italian national of Moroccan descent, were shot dead by armed police eight minutes after the first emergency call. POLICE PAID tribute to the “incredible bravery” shown by members of the public as they fought off the attackers and desperately tried to save others during Saturday’s terror spree.
Commander Dean Haydon, from the Met’s counter-terrorism command, also spoke with pride about off-duty officer Charlie Guenigault, who was stabbed in the stomach as he took on the terrorists with his bare hands.
Mr Haydon lauded the quick-thinking of a doctor who sprang into action after hearing screaming while he enjoyed dinner at Lobos restaurant on Borough High Street. He said: “He quickly made his way to the window and could see people that were injured outside. With no regard for his own safety he ran downstairs and outside into the street to help.
“And even when armed police stated that the place was unsafe he continued and assisted in carrying a fatally injured male to the other side of the bridge. He remained in the area assisting the other wounded.”
A PR consultant who ignored the terrorists to help a seriously injured man as they attacked people just yards away from him was also singled out for praise. The man leaped into action after hearing seeing a white van crashed into railings near London Bridge.
The commander also thanked a restaurant worker who threw things at the attackers in a desperate effort to defend his patrons. The man was working at El Pastor Mexican restaurant in Borough Market when he heard a commotion outside and the trio burst through the doors. Mr Haydon said: “I have personally seen the CCTV of that area and it’s fair to say that other members of the public picked up items such as chairs, and anything they could get their hands on.”