London Bridge terrorists planned attack for two weeks

An inquest into the London Bridge terrorist attack on 3 June 2017 has heard that the three terrorists started preparing their atrocity more than two weeks before they struck.

The inquest heard new details of the attack and preparations, including that Oxford Street in central London may have been the original target and that one attacker, Khuram Butt, supposedly the ringleader, was under MI5 investigation. Jonathan Hough QC, counsel to the inquest, suggested it was possible the terrorists decided on London Bridge as a target ‘en route’.

Butt, 27, carried out the attack on London Bridge with Rachid Redouane, 30, and Youssef Zaghba, 22, using a rented van to run over people on London Bridge, killing two, before the three terrorists vacated the vehicle and stabbed six people to death.

An officer from Scotland Yard’s counter-terrorism command told the inquest that the hire van rented for the attack cost the terrorists just £70, with the three men hoping to emulate the lorry used in the Nice terrorist attack the previous year.

The inquest continues.