Warning over London Bridge attacker not passed on

Evidence given at the Old Bailey has revealed that a crucial warning about the danger posed by Khuram Butt by his brother-in-law was not passed to a police investigation into him.

Butt, who led the attack on London Bridge, was the centre of a Metropolitan Police counter terrorism investigation in 2015 over concerns he was planning a UK attack, more than 18 months before the attack took place. The investigation, called Operation Hawthorn, was launched into Butt in 2015 by MI5 and police over concerns he intended to carry out an attack.

The call from Usman Darr, Butt’s relative, was not passed to witness M, the senior detective giving evidence in the London Bridge inquest, or his team and could have been an early warning of the danger Butt posed.

The 2015 investigation conceded that Butt was know to be associated with a banned extremist group, al-Muhajiroun, in which hate preacher Anjem Choudary was a key figure, but was ultimately deemed as aspiring to carry out an attack, but lacking capability.

Darr was never spoken to about his concerns over But, and the information was instead passed to teams investigating al-Muhajiroun and its successor groups.

Memorial services have been held at Southwark Cathedral to mark the second anniversary of the London Bridge terror attack, in which eight people were killed and 48 seriously injured.