ISLAMABAD – The man who stabbed two people to death in London on Friday inwhat the authorities called a terrorist attack as 28-year-old Usman Khan,who had been convicted of terrorism offences and was released from prisonlast year.
Police said they were not actively seeking others in relation to theincident.
“This individual was known to authorities, having been convicted in 2012for terrorism offences. He was released from prison in December 2018 onlicence,” Neil Basu, head of UK counter-terrorism policing, said in astatement.
In 2012 Khan, from Stoke in central England, was jailed along with eightothers in a terrorist group inspired by al Qaeda that had plotted to bombtargets including the London Stock Exchange.
He was sentenced to a minimum of eight years in prison and was also foundguilty of making longer-term plans including taking part in “terroristtraining” in Pakistan.
Basu said Khan had attended an event on Friday afternoon at Fishmonger’sHall, a historic building on the north side of the bridge in the centre ofthe capital.
A person who is released on licence is subject to conditions for theduration of their sentence after leaving prison. The Times newspaperreported that Khan had agreed to wear an electronic tag.
The attacker went on the rampage just before 2pm, targeting people atFishmongers’ Hall near London Bridge in the heart of the city’s financialdistrict.
Read Top Stories
In addition to the man and the woman who were killed, a man and two womenwere injured and remain in hospital, Basu said.
Just before news broke of the suspect’s previous conviction, Prime MinisterBoris Johnson, who is seeking re-election on Dec. 12, said criminals mustbe made to serve their sentences.
“It is a mistake to allow serious and violent criminals to come out ofprison early, and it is very important that we get out of that habit andthat we enforce the appropriate sentences for dangerous criminals,especially for terrorists,” he said.
Johnson leads opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn, according to opinion polls.
During the 2017 election campaign, London Bridge was the scene of an attackwhen three militants drove a van into pedestrians and then attacked peoplein the surrounding area, killing eight and injuring at least 48. The attackfocused attention on cuts to policing since the governing Conservativestook power in 2010.
“We owe a deep debt of gratitude to our police and emergency services, andthe brave members of the public who put themselves in harm’s way to protectothers,” Corbyn said late on Friday. – APP / AFP
