London attacker named as Khalid Masood

A man who murdered three people before he was shot dead by police in yesterday’s London terror attack has been named as Khalid Masood. Today it was confirmed that he was born in the UK and it is strongly believed that he was inspired by Islamic extremism.



 Masood, 52, had previous convictions for assaults, including GBH, possession of offensive weapons and public order offences. He had not been convicted of any terrorism offences, Scotland Yard said.
The attacker was born in Kent and detectives believe he was most recently living in the West Midlands. Masood was also known by a number of aliases, according to police.

Masood drove along Westminster Bridge yesterday afternoon killing a mother-of-two and a man in his mid-50s and injuring another 29 people, some of them critically. He then got out of the vehicle and ran round the corner to get into the grounds of the Palace of Westminster.
 There he stabbed police officer Keith Palmer to death before being gunned down. Theresa May told MPs he was a ‘peripheral’ figure, adding: ‘He was not part of the current intelligence picture.’
 Describing the terrorist, Mrs May said: ‘What I can confirm is that the man was British- born and that some years ago he was once investigated by MI5 in relation to concerns about violent extremism. He was a peripheral figure. ‘The case is historic. He was not part of the current intelligence picture. There was no prior intelligence of his intent or of the plot.’
Anti-terror police have arrested eight people in the wake of the attack. Masood was not the subject of any current investigations and there was no prior intelligence about his intent to mount a terrorist attack. His first conviction was in November 1983 for criminal damage and his last conviction was in December 2003 for possession of a knife.
Anyone with any information about Masood can call the Anti-Terrorist Hotline 0800 789 321.