The security services were facing difficult questions last night over how at least one of the London Bridge terrorists slipped through the intelligence net.
It emerged that the 27-year-old Muslim extremist appeared in a TV documentary last year about British jihadis – and was involved in a filmed altercation with police after an Islamic State flag was unfurled in a park.
He was caught on camera alongside two notorious preachers who were well known to police and intelligence officials because of their extremist views.
Amid a series of revelations last night, it was claimed that a friend of the Watford-born suspect had reported him to the anti-terror hotline after he became radicalised by watching extremist videos on YouTube.
It was also alleged that police were warned about the suspect radicalising children in a local park two years ago.
And yesterday, a photographer captured a detective carrying secret notes which appeared to suggest a man embroiled in the investigation had been quizzed by police last year.
The suspect, who the Mail has chosen not to name at the request of police, is understood to be one of three men who embarked on a stabbing rampage in London on Saturday night.
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It emerged that the 27-year-old Muslim extremist appeared in a TV documentary last year about British jihadis – and was involved in a filmed altercation with police after an Islamic State flag was unfurled in a park
Three Jihadi terrorists have been shot dead by armed police after killing seven people and injuring at least 48 more during a horrific knife rampage in central London last night. This photo appears to show the suspects lying dead on the ground outside Wheatsheaf pub in Borough Market. The man in the centre of the image appears to be wearing an Arsenal football shirt
The terrorist, who MailOnline are not naming, appeared in this documentary which aired on Channel 4 last year focusing on jihadis in Britain
An Islamic flag being unfurled in the middle of a park in broad daylight during the filming of the Channel 4 documentary last year
A group of men on their knees facing the Islamic flag which was unfurled in the middle of a park as people walked around on a sunny day
Amid a series of revelations last night, it was claimed that a friend of the Watford-born suspect had reported him to the anti-terror hotline after he became radicalised by watching extremist videos on YouTube as a picture of the documentary is shown here
He was pictured, having been shot dead by police, lying on the ground in an Arsenal shirt.
The attackers, who were wearing fake suicide bomb vests, used a van to mow down pedestrians on London Bridge before running amok with knives in Borough Market, slitting the throats of innocent bystanders. One is reported to have yelled: ‘This is for Allah.’
They left at least seven dead and 48 injured before police marksmen halted their stabbing spree.
Last night, chilling footage showed two of the attackers sauntering through a deserted Borough Market just moments after they abandoned the white van they used in the attack.
Yesterday, Theresa May declared that ‘enough was enough’ as she announced a four-point plan of action following the third devastating terror attack in Britain in just three months.
But the Prime Minister insisted that Thursday’s general election would go ahead, despite terrorists trying to derail Britain’s democracy. On another day of extraordinary developments:
The Arsenal-shirted jihadi was caught on camera alongside two notorious preachers who were well known to police and intelligence officials because of their extremist views. A still from the documentary is seen here
A map shows how terror attack unfolded. The attackers were shot dead within eight minutes of the first emergency phone call
Yesterday police arrested 12 people in connection with the atrocities – seven women and five men. The youngest was a 19-year-old woman and the eldest was a 60-year-old woman.
Among those detained were a number of people taken into custody at the suspect’s home in Barking, east London – where he lived with his wife, two young children and elderly mother.
Police also raided a mother and baby unit in Barking, blowing off the doors in the early hours and taking away a woman aged 38 and her daughter. The woman’s partner, a Tunisian man from whom she is estranged, is believed to be among those being questioned.
In nearby East Ham, a suspect attempted to escape from police by climbing out of his first-floor bedroom window above a bookmaker’s. It emerged yesterday that the Barking suspect had previously worked for London transport operator Transport for London (TfL) and a branch of fast food chain KFC.
A neighbour described how the man appeared to be ‘euphoric’ just hours before Saturday night’s attack and was asking about how to hire a van. But once again, attention was focused on the intelligence failures that may have allowed him to slip the net. It follows similar questions over Salman Abedi, the Islamic extremist who killed 22 people in the suicide bombing at Manchester Arena.
Arsenal jihadi: The Mail knows the identity of the terrorist, but agreed not to name him at the request of the police
Scribbled handwritten comments that were being carried by a detective at the scene of yesterday’s raids, revealed a person involved in the inquiry had been ‘interrogated’ by officers over his ‘Islamist views’.
It was also reported by the BBC that a friend of one of the suspects had called an anti-terror hotline about him because of concerns that he had been radicalised.
Meanwhile a neighbour claimed that they warned police about the suspect radicalising children in a local park two years ago.
Erica Gasparri then went to the park, where she said a ‘Pakistani man’ had stated: ‘I’m ready to do whatever I need to do in the name of Allah. I am ready in the name of Allah to do what needs to be done, including killing my own mother.’
She said she took four photographs of him and gave them to the police. She said that she then heard nothing.
It is understood that MI5 has to prioritise monitoring those jihadists who have known attack plans – and that just because a person has been flagged up as an extremist and is known to the security services this does not mean they were known to be a risk.
Intelligence officers have identified 23,000 jihadist extremists living in Britain as potential terrorist attackers. Last week senior Whitehall sources pointed to the ‘unprecedented’ scale of the threat facing the security services. At any one time MI5 has around 500 live investigations, of which several are plots to attack in the UK.
Yesterday, Mrs May promised to review Britain’s counter-terrorism strategy, with the prospect of enhanced powers for police and security services and tougher jail sentences for extremists.
Speaking outside 10 Downing Street, she promised to ensure that police and security services have ‘all the powers they need’ to tackle a ‘more complex, more fragmented and more hidden’ threat.
The Prime Minister also indicated that courts could be given powers to impose harsher punishments. She warned Britain is in the grip of a spate of copycat terror attacks, following the attack on Westminster in March and the bombing in Manchester last month.
Mrs May said that although there was no direct link between the three incidents, ‘terrorism breeds terrorism’.
But the Prime Minister reserved her harshest words for the social media giants she accused of failing to deprive the extremists of ‘their safe space online’.
She is said to be furious at the availability of terror manuals on sites such as YouTube and Facebook, and the ease with which hate preachers can spread their poison on social media.
It emerged yesterday that the firms could face multimillion-pound fines if they continue to drag their feet over the issue. Last night chilling images emerged of the three terrorists involved in Saturday night’s attacks. Striding calmly through empty streets, the three men were caught on camera as they hunted for more victims during their terrifying rampage.
The attackers, who were wearing fake suicide vests, were filmed sauntering through a deserted Borough Market just moments after they abandoned the white van used to mow down pedestrians on London Bridge.
Twenty-four hours after the atrocity, harrowing stories emerged of the brutality and callousness of the terrorists. Witnesses described how the maniacs slashed bystanders’ throats and stabbed people in the face yelling: ‘This is for Islam.’
An Italian witness described the moment armed police fired up to 50 shots in a ‘matter of seconds’ to kill the men. It also emerged that a pregnant woman was among the victims on the bridge and a quick-thinking cab driver tried to run over the killers but they dodged him.
An off-duty policeman grappled with them and was stabbed. The Scotland Yard officer, who plays rugby in his spare time, was in a critical condition in hospital last night. He is one of four police officers injured – two seriously.
The killers were finally cut down as they sauntered past the Wheatsheaf pub next to the market. Met Police commissioner Cressida Dick praised the ‘extraordinarily brave actions by officers on and off duty first on the scene’ who ‘ran towards the danger’.
The second policeman who was seriously injured is a British Transport Police officer who was one of the first to arrive on the scene. Armed with only a baton, he was stabbed in the face, head and leg when he tried to intervene.
It was also claimed last night that the terrorists may have hired the van they used only at the last minute. A neighbour of the main suspect said he discussed hiring a vehicle with him on Saturday afternoon – hours before the atrocities.
The documentary was screened on Channel 4 last year and featured one of the three London Bridge murderers, who is not pictured here
Images of the vehicle appear to show it is a white Hertz hire van, which also has B&Q branding on it.
A spokesman for Hertz said: ‘We are assisting the authorities and are unable to comment further at this stage due to the ongoing police investigation.’
A spokesman for B&Q referred all inquiries to the police.
The jihadi who appeared in the documentary tricked his neighbours into believing he was a nice guy by playing football with their children on the nearby green.
Secretly, he was harbouring a destructive hatred and frequently changing his appearance in preparation of unleashing a deadly attack on the capital city, we can reveal.
The killer lived in a block of flats in Barking and also played table tennis with youngsters.
A neighbour told MailOnline the man who was pictured in an Arsenal shirt lying dead on the street outside the Wheatsheaf pub in Borough Market near London Bridge was a father of at least two children.
The murderer managed to put on such a front with those close to him that local parents would even trust him to be alone with their children, which used to happen regularly.
ISIS tonight claimed responsibility for the attack, 24 hours after the three terrorists were shot dead, saying the three men were a 'squadron of fighters from the Islamic State'.
The Barking jihadi was described as 'a nice guy' by a neighbour who saw him hold a door open for an old lady two days before slaughtering innocent members of the public in the third Islamic terror attack in just over 10 weeks in the UK.
A white van used in the attack on London Bridge is seen hoist on top of a flat-bed truck as police work on London Bridge in London on June 4, 2017, as part of their investigations following the terror attack on the bridge and at the nearby Borough Market on June 3
The van that was used by the killer jihadis last night on London Bridge before they got out and started randomly stabbing victims
Forensics investigators work as a white van is carried away from London Bridge, after attackers rammed a hired van into pedestrians on London Bridge and stabbed others nearby killing and injuring people, in London
A white van is carried away from London Bridge, after attackers rammed a hired van into pedestrians on London Bridge and stabbed others nearby killing and injuring people
The trio began their killing spree just after 10pm when they ploughed into pedestrians in a white van on London Bridge
One neighbour told MailOnline said: 'Once I helped him when his car broke down and he came round the next day with some food for me.
'Then, two days before the attack, I saw him holding the door to his flat's open for an old lady. He was a nice guy.
'He was always smiling. But he always went to his own mosque so I never prayed with him.'
A man who lived above the London Bridge terrorist for three years said: 'He always changed his facial appearance. He did that a lot. He always looked different.
'He lived there with his wife, who has just had a baby girl, and his mum. He also had another child. He would regularly play table tennis in the games room with everyone, you would never have suspected this.
'A man I recognised as his brother came here in the morning while police raided the flat and he was crying. That's when I thought "oh my, it's really him".'
Another Barking resident knew the killer in the Arsenal shirt who was shot dead in the street.
He said: 'He used to play table tennis and he was really generous with everyone's kids. People would leave their kids to play with him.
'You'd never expect anything like this from him.'
While carrying out their barbaric attack, the three men were heard shouting, 'This is for Allah,' which surprised one resident.
He told MailOnline: 'One time he stopped and help me get my car re-started.
'He said he wanted to help a fellow Muslim out. I thought it was odd he said he was religious because I never saw him at mosque.
'These people are usually radicalised in their bedrooms.'
Armed officers remained at the scene today as police launched a major investigation into the the third terror attack on British soil in as many months
The rented van used by the attackers pictured at the scene today, where it was abandoned shortly after 10pm last night
Twelve people were arrested in connection with the terror attack in a police raid on a flat in Barking, east London, today
Forensic officers were seen circling blood splatter and bagging pieces of evidence as they scoured London Bridge today
He was caught on camera striding calmly through empty streets near London Bridge as he hunted for more victims during his and his accomplice's terrifying rampage last night.
The attackers, who were wearing fake suicide vests, were filmed sauntering through a deserted Borough Market just moments after they abandoned the white van used to mow down pedestrians on London Bridge.
Shortly after the trio began stabbing revellers at random inside packed bars and pubs, with dozens of victims suffering wounds to their faces, necks and chests. The video was taken sometime during this second phase of the atrocity and shows the attackers coming within feet of the Market Porter pub, where dozens of revellers hid in fear.
Moments after the video was taken, all three suspects were shot dead by police - just eight minutes after the first emergency call was received.
It emerged Sunday night a member of the public was shot after being caught in the police crossfire.
A doctor from the Royal London Hospital, Malik Ramadhan, told The Guardian the member of public was a man who was shot in the head but that he is 'absolutely not dying' and is expected to make a full recovery.
Mark Rowley said: ‘We’re making significant progress in identifying the three attackers and confirming the fact there were no other suspects at the scene when the attack was carried out.
‘Work is undergoing to understand more about them, about their connections and whether they were assisted and supported by anyone else. There is clearly more to do and we will work relentlessly to get to the facts.
'We established that the van used in the attack was a white Renault van that was recently hired by one of the attackers.
Devastating: Harrowing images and videos have emerged showing bystanders rushing to save the lives of injured pedestrians on London Bridge
Last night seven people were killed in brutal terror attack on London Bridge. Pictured above, the devastating scene as bystanders and emergency workers tried to save the injured
A City of London police officer bows in respect as a coroner's vehicle is driven away from London Bridge this morning
Armed police officers walk a detection dog through the streets around Borough Market as the investigation gets underway
Forensic officers today searched London Bridge for clues as they tried to piece together what happened last night
Forensics officers were seen carrying tools and bags of evidence away from London Bridge this morning
Medical supplies and debris were strewn across a street near Borough Market, where dozens of victims were stabbed
Several men were pictured laying on the floor in handcuffs outside the block of flats in a raid which is believed to be in connection with the London Bridge attack
The bloody aftermath of the London Bridge attack has been laid bare in video footage from inside The Globe pub which shows a wounded man being treated
Desperate families are begging for information on loved ones feared missing after the attack, including a 16-year-old girl who failed to return home last night
Police and members of the emergency services muster on Borough High Street in the clean up after the attack
A minute's silence will be held on Tuesday 6 June in remembrance of those who lost their lives
‘The van mounted the pavement and collided with pedestrians before being abandoned where attackers were armed with knives, continued into the Borough Market area, stabbing numerous people. The attackers were then confronted by the firearms officers and I can confirm eight police firearms officers discharged their weapons.
‘While this will be subject to an investigation by the IPCC, our initial assessment is in the region of 50 rounds, 50 bullets were fired by those eight officers. The three attackers were shot dead.
‘The situation these officers were confronted with was critical - a matter of life and death - three armed men wearing what appeared to be suicide belts. They had already attacked and killed members of the public and had to be stopped immediately.
'Indeed I’m not surprised with what they must have feared were three suicide bombers the firearms officers fired an unprecedented number of rounds to be completely confident they had neutralised the threat that those men posed.'
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