Lizzie Dearden - London attack linked to hate preacher Anjem Choudary's extremist network
The bloody rampage
that left seven people dead and dozens injured on a busy Saturday night in
London Bridge is the latest atrocity to be tied to Anjem Choudary’s
network of extremists, it has emerged. Khuram
Butt, who wore an Arsenal shirt and hoax suicide vest to carry out the
slaughter, had been reported to authorities repeatedly over alarming comments
and behaviour. Experts warn that
his transformation from apparently non-violent extremist to terrorist could be
echoed by countless British Islamists brought to a “tipping point” by the
ideology espoused by hate preachers.
Butt was spotted
alongside Choudary, who has subsequently been jailed
for inviting support for Isis, at a protest following the murder of Lee
Rigby in 2013. Mohammed Shafiq, chief executive of anti-extremism group the
Ramadhan Foundation, said Butt flanked Choudary as he defended a murder carried
out by one of his own followers. Mr Shafiq, who was conducting interviews
nearby in Westminster’s College Green, went to challenge Choudary, Butt and
another supporter. “I went to confront him and Butt shouted out
‘murtadd’ [apostate from Islam],” he told The Independent.
“He and Choudary were together – they
came together and they left together. “I didn't pay much attention to Butt at
the time, he was just mouthing off at me.” Mr Shafiq later recognised the
aggressor in a documentary on British Islamists broadcast last year, and again
when he was named among the London Bridge attackers. Butt made no attempt to
hide his identity while appearing in Channel 4 programme The
Jihadis Next Door, alongside a group of known extremists led by
Choudary’s former deputy Mohammed Shamsuddin. He was shown joining a public
prayer towards
a black flag associated with Islamist groups including Isis and al-Qaeda, then
shouting at police alerted by concerned passers-by.
It was one of
several incidents reported to authorities, who have not confirmed claims that
Butt was the subject of calls to
the anti-terror hotline. Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley said the
father-of-two was known to police and MI5, but because the probe into him did
not reveal evidence of attack planning he was prioritised accordingly. London
Bridge attacker Khuram Shazad Butt, also known as ‘Abz’, in
Channel 4’s ‘The Jihadis Next Door’ in 2016 (Channel 4) Butt
most probably came to the attention of security services because of his
association with Choudary, Shamsuddin and other remnants of the banned
Al-Muhajiroun terrorist group. A former member of the organisation who now
works for counter-terrorism group Quilliam International, Adam Deen, said Butt
had been reported to police for attacking one of his colleagues.
Dr Usama Hasan,
Quilliam’s head of Islamic studies, was at an event marking Eid in July last
year when Butt approached. “He spotted [Dr Hasan] at the festival and proceeded
to attack him and verbally assault him…because he worked for Quilliam,” Mr Deen
told The Independent. He said the incident was reported to police
but witnesses did not know Butt’s identity at the time. A spokesperson for
the Metropolitan Police would not confirm if the attacker was reported or when,
saying: “We have looked back and some of the claims made in the media we do not
recognise. But there have been some calls. “That information is important and
we are grateful to the people who ring in. “But being
radicalised is not enough to support a criminal prosecution... read more:
