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The Guardian

A coroner has cleared MI5 and the police of failing to prevent the London Bridge terrorist attack.
The chief coroner of England and Wales, Judge Mark Lucraft QC, delivered his conclusions on Friday at the end of inquests into the deaths of eight people in the June 2017 attacks.
The coroner said he “was not persuaded” that chances were lost by counterterrorism investigators, who had been monitoring the ring leader, Khuram Butt, since 2015, that could have “realistically saved lives”.
But he said there was an “arguable” breach of the state’s duty to protect life by the failure to place protective barriers on London Bridge, where two people were killed by a van driven by the attackers.

Lucraft said no formal physical security measures were installed on London Bridge despite it being a location that was particularly vulnerable to a vehicular attack. “There were weaknesses in systems for assessing the need for such measures on the bridge.”
He described the MI5-led pre-attack investigation into Butt as “thorough and rigorous”.
“I am not persuaded that investigation opportunities were lost which realistically could have saved lives,” he said.
He also criticised Butt’s family, who he said were aware of his extremist views but did not report him to the authorities.
Family members of the victims were critical of the authorities for not recognising the danger posed by Butt and not bolstering physical security in the area.
Philippe Pigeard, whose son Alexandre was stabbed to death, told The Guardian his life had been destroyed and he believed more could have been done by the authorities.
“The question is: could this attack have been prevented?” he said. “The answer is really difficult but, yes, probably. I think they could have done a better job.”
Christine Delcros, girlfriend of victim Xavier Thomas, said: “I believe this attack was preventable.
“I find it staggering that [Khuram] Butt, a well-known extremist was allowed to work within the London Transport network, to have access to and teach young children, and to rent and use a vehicle in a manner now too often encountered. I am dismayed SO15 [Counter Terrorism Command] did not pass this critical information to any of his employers.”
I am not persuaded that investigation opportunities were lost which realistically could have saved lives
Judge Mark Lucraft QC
Thomas’s parents, Christiane and Philippe Pesez, said that key clues to the attackers’ plan were missed. “There had clearly been many opportunities to link [Butt] to both other accomplices – we believe opportunities that were missed and lost,” they said.
Lucraft ruled all eight victims were unlawfully killed as he delivered his conclusions following weeks of evidence, including from bereaved families who challenged the authorities over whether more could have been done.
On June 3, 2017, three terrorists drove a rented van into pedestrians walking on London Bridge, killing two people. They then ran amok with 30cm (12in) knives in a stabbing rampage that killed six people.
The attack lasted 10 minutes and ended when armed police shot dead the terrorists, all three of whom had fake suicide bomb belts wrapped around them. Police fired 46 shots at the terrorists to end the UK’s first “marauding” attack, where perpetrators run through a crowded area.
The ringleader, Khuram Butt, 27, had been under MI5 investigation since 2015 over fears he would stage an attack. Eventually, he struck alongside fellow east Londoners Rachid Redouane, 30, and Youssef Zaghba, 22.

The inquests heard of alleged failures by MI5 to search for clues to the atrocity Butt was plotting, but the security services and police insisted the attack could not have been prevented.
The van first struck Xavier Thomas, 45, who was thrown over the side of the bridge into the River Thames. It took three days to recover his body.
The next victim was Christine Archibald, 30, a Canadian who was walking with her fiancée when the van drove into her. Rented hours earlier, the van crashed to a stop against railings by a pub and overlooking the courtyard of the Boro Bistro restaurant.
The terrorists, who had knives taped to their hands, started a running rampage in which they stabbed six people to death.
Those victims sustained horrifying injuries. Sébastien Bélanger, 36, was a head chef at a nearby restaurant; Alexandre Pigeard, 26, a waiter from France, tried to save someone else as he lay dying; Kirsty Boden, 28, a nurse from Australia, was killed after tending to the wounded; Ignacio Echeverría Miralles de Imperial, 39, from Spain, was killed as he tried to fight the terrorists armed with a skateboard; James McMullan, 32, from Hackney, East London, had been in a pub watching the Champions League final; and Sara Zelenak, 21, an Australian, was on a night out after being given time off from her au pair work at the last minute.
The inquest heard the terrorists may have originally planned to attack Oxford Street and had wanted to use a 7.5 tonne truck, similar to earlier vehicle attacks in Europe, which would have almost certainly caused more carnage.
The attack was one of several in the UK in 2017. In March, a vehicle was driven into pedestrians on Westminster Bridge, with the terrorist fatally stabbing a police officer guarding the Palace of Westminster. Then, in May, the Manchester Arena was struck by a suicide bomber who killed 22 people at a pop concert.
Terror inquest hears details of 2017’s deadly London Bridge attack
After the London Bridge attack a rightwing extremist attacked worshippers with a rented van near a north London mosque, and in September there was an attempt to bomb a London tube train with a device that failed to fully ignite.
The inquest heard of incredible savagery by the attackers who hunted as a team, stabbing many around the neck area, and of desperate scenes as Saturday revellers found themselves in a nightmare, with some trying to save others from being murdered.
A nurse, Helen Kennett, came face to face with the terrorist Redouane and challenged him. She told the inquest: “I looked at him and I said: ‘What’s wrong with you?’ And he looked at me and said: ‘No, what’s wrong with you?’ … He stabbed me in the neck on the left side.”
She had gone to help Pigeard, and said to the dying waiter: “Let me help you, I’m a nurse.” She told the inquest: “He shook his head … I am sure he told me to run.”
The Guardian understands that MI5 did have “eyes on” surveillance on Butt at times and did see him associating with his two accomplices but did not appreciate their significance or the murder they were plotting.


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Terrorism

British police and MI5 cleared of failing to prevent June 2017 London Bridge terror attacks

A man kneels near flowers at Potters Fields Park in London on June 5, 2017. Photo: AFP

epa07680321 (FILE) - A composite image showing undated handout photos made available on 05 June and 06 June 2017 by Britain's London Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) showing from (L-R) Khuram Shazad Butt, Rachid Redouane and Youssef Zaghba, the men shot dead by police following terrorist attack in London on 03 June 2017. Eight members of the public were killed and dozens injured after three attackers on late 03 June ploughed a van into pedestrians and later randomly stabbed people on London Bridge and nearby Borough Market. Media reports on 12 May 2019 state that the three attackers use of WhatsApp, an encrypted messaging service, may have prevented the authorities from identifying the plot (reissued 28 June 2019). Reports on 28 June 2019 state Mark Lucraft, chief coroner of England and Wales, concluded at the end of the inquest into the 8 victims that died, that they had all been unlawfully killed. EPA-EFE/LONDON METROPOLITAN POLICE/ HANDOUT HANDOUT EDITORIAL USE ONLY/NO SALES *** Lo

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan speaks during a vigil to remember the victims of the attack on London Bridge and Borough Market, at Potters Field Park, in central London, Britain, June 5, 2017. REUTERS/Marko Djurica

UK police release photos of fake suicide belts from London Bridge terror attack

A fake explosive belt worn by one of the London Bridge attackers. Photo: EPA

A combination of handout pictures released by the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) on June 10, 2017 shows both sides of one of the pink ceramic knives used in the London Bridge terrorist attack. The ceramic pink knives were found on or nearby the three attackers - Khuram Shazad Butt, Rachid Redouane and Youssef Zaghba - after police shot them dead during the June 3 attack. The kitchen knives, each measuring 12 inches, are branded Ernesto and are ceramic. / AFP PHOTO / METROPOLITAN POLICE / - / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO / METROPOLITAN POLICE" - NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS

epa06022017 An undated handout photo made available by Britain's London Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) on 11 June 2017 shows pictures of the fake explosive belts worn by the London Bridge attackers. All three of the attackers wore the leather belts. Each had three disposable water bottles covered in masking tape attached to the belt. The belts were still attached to the suspects when they were shot dead. Eight members of the public were killed and dozens injured after three attackers - Khuram Shazad Butt, Rachid Redouane and Youssef Zaghba - on late 03 June ploughed a van into pedestrians and later randomly stabbed people on London Bridge and nearby Borough Market. The three attackers wearing fake suicide vests were shot dead by police. EPA/LONDON METROPOLITAN POLICE HANDOUT HANDOUT EDITORIAL USE ONLY/NO SALES

London Bridge attackers had tried to hire 7.5-tonne truck before they went on stabbing spree with large pink ceramic knives

The van used in the London Bridge terrorist attack. Photo: EPA

An undated handout photo issued by the Metropolitan Police, London, and made available Saturday, June 10, 2017, of a wine bottle recovered from the scene of the London Bridge attacks of Saturday June 3 which killed several people and wounded dozens more. The ringleader of the London Bridge terror gang tried to hire a 7.5 tonne lorry hours before the attack, police have revealed. Detectives suspect the carnage inflicted could have been even worse if Khuram Butt had not failed to secure the vehicle because his payment did not go through. (Metropolitan Police London via AP)

In this image taken from video which emerged on social media, shows police as they surround an attacker on ground at right, during the attack in Borough Market in southeast London Saturday June 3, 2017. The dramatic video footage has been released showing the moment that armed police swooped into a busy London market area to stop an attack in just eight minutes. Police, meanwhile, said Thursday June 8, 2017 that they have arrested 6 men and raided properties in east London. Three of the arrests are linked to the London Bridge attacks.(UGC via AP)

An undated handout photo issued by the Metropolitan Police, London, and made available Saturday, June 10, 2017, showing a map and timeline of the London Bridge and Borough Market terror attacks of Saturday June 3 which killed several people and wounded dozens more. The ringleader of the London Bridge terror gang tried to hire a 7.5 tonne lorry hours before the attack, police have revealed. Detectives suspect the carnage inflicted could have been even worse if Khuram Butt had not failed to secure the vehicle because his payment did not go through. (Metropolitan Police London via AP)

epa06020182 An undated handout photo made available by Britain's London Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) on 10 June 2017 shows a pink ceramic knife used in the London Bridge terrorist attack on 03 June 2017, in London, Britain. Detectives, who found the knives nearby the three London Bridge terrorist attackers - Khuram Shazad Butt, Rachid Redouane and Youssef Zaghba - are appealing for information about the 'distinctive' 12-inch (30cm) pink knives branded 'Ernesto' which the men were carrying. According to the police, the attackers hung the knives around their wrist by attaching leather straps to the knife handles. Eight members of the public were killed and dozens injured after three attackers on late 03 June ploughed a van into pedestrians and later randomly stabbed people on London Bridge and nearby Borough Market. The three attackers wearing fake suicide vests were shot dead by police. EPA/LONDON METROPOLITAN POLICE HANDOUT HANDOUT EDITORIAL USE ONLY/NO SALES

Italian national Youssef Zaghba, 22, identified by Italian and British law enforcement bodies as the third man shot dead by police officers during the attack on London Bridge and Borough Market is seen on right with the other two men named, Khuram Shazad Butt on left and Rachid Redouane, in an undated image handed out by the Metropolitan Police, June 6, 2017, Metropolitan Police Handout via REUTERS FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. IT IS DISTRIBUTED, EXACTLY AS RECEIVED BY REUTERS, AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS

epa06020183 An undated handout photo made available by Britain's London Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) on 10 June 2017 shows the interior of the van used in the London Bridge terrorist attack on 03 June 2017, in London, Britain. According to the police, the attackers made an online booking to hire a 7.5 tonnes lorry hours earlier the attack but they failed to provide payment details and the rental did not go through, prompting them to use a white Renault van instead. Special forensics officers recovered several items from the used vehicle, including bottles wrapped with rags believed to be filled with flammable liquid and blow torches as well as office chairs and gravel bags that were presumably used as a cover story for the vehicle's hiring, police added. Eight members of the public were killed and dozens injured after three attackers - Khuram Shazad Butt, Rachid Redouane and Youssef Zaghba - on late 03 June ploughed a van into pedestrians and later randomly stabbed people on Londo

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Coroner rules that counterterror investigators did not miss chances to look into terror group ring leader


Coroner rules that counterterror investigators did not miss chances to look into terror group ring leader.
