
Terrorist: Khuram Butt, 27, managed to get a job on the Tube four months after he appeared on a documentary about British jihadis and worked at an all-Muslim gym run by a terror suspect on a FBI watchlist

The London Bridge massacre mastermind was a member of an all-Muslim gym run by a terror suspect on a FBI watchlist and tried to radicalise young people he worked out with, it was revealed today.

Khuram Butt, 27, worked at Ummah Fitness in Ilford with Sajeel Shahid, 41, a member of Anjem Choudary's al-Muhajiroun network who was accused of helping train the 7/7 bomb ringleader Mohammed Siddique Khan.

Yet Butt was deemed a 'low priority' by police and MI5 despite his links to Choudary, Europe's most notorious hate preacher.

The father-of-two, 27, was probed two years before his murderous rampage but officials downgraded the investigation because they did not suspect he was planning an attack.

Incredibly last year he even secured a job working on the Tube and had access to tunnels under the Houses of Parliament while working at Westminster station.

The Pakistani-born Briton, who came to the UK as an asylum seeker, was able to mastermind the murder of seven and maiming of 48 others in plain sight on Saturday night.

There are growing calls for Scotland Yard and MI5 to explain why they failed to act on the repeated warnings about Butt's extremism.

In the two years before Saturday's terror attack he slipped down Britain's 3,000-strong terror watch list putting the security services and police on the rack because:

In 2016 he appeared on the Channel 4 film The Jihadis Next Door and was filmed unfurling an ISIS-type flag in Regent's Park before rowing with police called by frightened members of the public;

Four months later Butt secured a job on the Tube and had access to tunnels under Parliament

In 2015 he prepared to abandon his pregnant wife Zahrah to wage holy war in Syria, until relatives talked him out of it;

He had links to various hate preachers including Anjem Choudary and gained a reputation for abusing moderate Muslims including 'traitors' who spoke out against the murder of Lee Rigby;

He also had links to a key contact of Mohammed Siddique Khan - one of the 7/7 suicide bombers, who killed 52 people in London 12 years ago.

Friends tried to tip off MI5 after his behaviour became more extreme and he became obsessed with watching YouTube rants by hate preachers. One whistleblower said he never heard back after calling anti-terror hotline;

Butt made repeated attempts to radicalise local children by offering them sweets and cash to listen to him

The jihadi became so extreme he called fellow Muslims without beards non-believers, would not speak to women directly and was banned from his mosque for berating worshippers and the imam for being 'un-Islamic'.

Butt became close friends with Sajeel Shahid, who allegedly helped to set up weapons training in Pakistan for the 7/7 suicide bombers who killed 52 people in July 2005.

The London Bridge attacker himself became a supporter and trusted lieutenant of Choudary and he helped run high-octane mixed martial arts classes and he used the gym to approach young people for radicalisation, according to The Times.

He was also a friend of masked murderer Siddhartha Dhar, dubbed 'Jihadi Sid', who was dubbed the new Jihadi John when he appeared in an gruesome ISIS execution film after fleeing to Syria.

Terrorists: Khuram Butt, Rachid Redouane and Youssef Zaghba massacred seven people in a rampage which started on London Bridge on Saturday night

Butt worked at Ummah Fitness in Ilford, left, with Sajeel Shahid, 41, right, a member of Anjem Choudary's al-Muhajiroun network who was accused of helping train the 7/7 bomb ringleader. It was closed today

Ummah Fitness Centre is east London was closed today after it emerged Butt had trained there.

Celebrating Lee Rigby's death, ISIS flag on national TV and the 7/7 link: The red flags that should have warned police Police and secret services considered Khuram Butt 'low priority' despite: Butt publicly abused moderate Muslims including 'traitors' who spoke out against the murder of Lee Rigby in 2013;

In 2015 he prepared to abandon his pregnant wife Zahrah to wage holy war in Syria, until relatives talked him out of it;

In the same year friends twice called the anti-terror hotline over his extremist behaviour and obsession with YouTube rants by hate preachers

Another whistleblower warned he was trying to radicalise children in his local park

In 2016 appeared on the Channel 4 film The Jihadis Next Door and was filmed unfurling an ISIS-type flag in Regent's Park before rowing with police called by frightened members of the public;

Four months later - in May 2016 - he secured a job on the Tube and had access to tunnels under Parliament

He also had links to a key contact of Mohammed Siddique Khan - one of the 7/7 suicide bombers, who killed 52 people in London 12 years ago .

Last year was reported to police last year for violent extremism

In July 2016 he physically and verbally abused crowds at an Eid festival. Butt was arrested in January but was let off with a caution. Advertisement

A rain sodden note on headed paper had been stuck to the gym door which expressed sadness at what had happened and called on people to unify in this difficult time.

It read: 'We at UFC are shocked and saddened by the events that occurred at London Bridge and and Borough on Saturday night.

'There is never any justification for indiscriminately killing civilians. We are a welcoming and opening part of the community.

'While Mr Butt did occasionally train here at UFC gym we do not know him well or see anything of concern, we of course will help the police in anyway we can.

'In these challenging times it is important we all stand united, we must avoid scapegoating any part of the community.'

Dr Usama Hasan, of the anti-extremist think-tank the Quilliam Foundation, revealed today that he reported Butt to the police and MI5 last summer after a meltdown at an Eid Festival.

Dr Hasan said the killer physically and verbally abused him and was screaming at 'everyone' including children enjoying fairground rides at a Muslim funfair in east London on July 6 last year.

He said: 'He was an al-Muhajiroun type guy, the network of Anjem Choudary and when I reported it to police I said I was pretty sure he was from that network. I said in my opinion he was a threat to national security because he was violent. He had no respect for anyone'.

He added: 'I'm so sorry for the London Bridge victims and their families that we as a society didn't stop this person'.

Dr Hasan's call to the security services last year is one of several ignored because police and MI5 decided he was not dangerous.

This is despite an aborted attempt to travel to Syria, clear links to a 7/7 suicide bomber and his starring role in a Channel 4 documentary on British jihadis watched by millions.

Within hours of the London Bridge massacre Butt's name and history emerged but MailOnline and the rest of the media was asked by Scotland Yard not to identify him to allow them to track down his associates.

Two days later he and accomplice Rachid Redouane were named but the 12 people arrested so far have all been released without charge.

Today the third terrorist behind Saturday's London Bridge terror attack has been named in Italy as Youssef Zaghba.

Italian newspaper Corriere Della Sera said Zaghba was stopped at Bologna airport in 2016 apparently trying to travel to Syria and that Italian authorities had tipped off Britain about his movements. He was working in a London restaurant before the terror attack.

Butt and his fellow murderers were shot dead inside Borough Market and wore fake suicide vests as they ran down people with a white van and then stabbed and slashed people on Saturday night

Terrorist Khuram Butt wrote on his WhatsApp profile on May 10, 'Allah says (Quran 94:6) - Indeed, with hardship, comes ease.'

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said today both must reveal what they knew about him and his predecessor Boris Johnson said people were right to question how he had 'slipped through our net' while in plain sight.

And Theresa May has now admitted she expects police and security services to launch an urgent review of how the three terrorists were able to strike unhindered.

Last night Mark Rowley, the UK's most senior counter-terrorism officer, said Butt came under investigation by police and MI5 in 2015. He said as this progressed a member of the public called the anti-terrorism hotline and reported Butt's increasingly extremist behaviour.

But over the following months investigators could find no evidence of 'attack planning' and he was downgraded as a priority.

Today Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, who served as Mayor of London, said people were right to question how Butt had 'slipped through our net' while in plain sight.

The London Bridge terror attack victims Killed: Kirsty Boden, 28, from Loxton, Australia

James McMullan, 32, from Hackney, east London

Christine Archibald, 30, from British Columbia, Canada

Alexandre Pigeard, 27, from Normandy, France Missing: Sara Zelenak, 21, from Brisbane, Australia

Xavier Thomas, from Loire-Atlantique, France

Ignacio Echeverria, 39, from Las Rozas, Spain

Sebastien Belanger, from Angers, France Advertisement

He said: 'People are understandably right to look at photographs in today's papers of the TV show that this guy was in and to ask what happened, how did this person slip through our net in the way that he seems to have done?'

London mayor Sadiq Khan said 'legitimate questions' were being asked after Saturday night's attack.

Speaking on BBC News, he said: 'The priority of the police and the security services is to investigate what happened on Saturday night, but I have no doubt they'll be looking into if there are lessons to be learnt... did they know about this man, did they act rightly? And I'm sure in due course they'll be letting us know what went on.

'What I think it's improper for me to do is, without seeing all the facts, to comment about that, but clearly there are legitimate questions raised which, not unreasonably, journalists and members of the public and I'm asking about, and I can assure you the police take these concerns very seriously and they will be responding in due course.'

On resourcing, he said there were a considerable number of people under surveillance and many more who were potential liabilities, adding the police and security services 'do a fantastic job with the limited resources that they have'.

He said: 'But their job is made much harder when cuts are made to their resources.'

Butt worked at Westminster Tube station and - despite being known to police and MI5 and featuring in a TV documentary about British jihadis.

The killer, who hid his fanaticism from colleagues, also worked at Canada Water station in the Docklands.

Incredibly, Butt was eventually sacked for poor attendance - not for being an Islamist fanatic, it was claimed last night.

A photograph, taken in May 2016 at West Kensington station, during his training period shows the jihadi posing in an orange hi-viz jacket and blue uniform, as one of the thousands of London Underground staff who help keep the public safe.

It emerged last night that he quoted the Quran in his final WhatsApp message three days before the attack, as he prepared himself for the horrific massacre on the streets of the British capital.

Butt sent his last message at 6.59pm on Wednesday, then shut off all contact on the service as he planned the atrocity with his two other accomplices.

Instead of a picture of himself, his profile picture is lines from the Islamic religious book, which read: 'Speak justice, speak kindly, speak politely, speak fairly, speak gently, speak graciously, speak not in vain.'

He also wrote as his WhatsApp profile status on May 10, 'Allah says (Quran 94:6) - Indeed, with hardship, comes ease.'

Khuram Butt, 27, a married father of two, appeared on the Channel 4 documentary The Jihadi Next Door (left) and wore an Arsenal shirt (right) as he and two friends crashed their van into crowds on London Bridge before slashing at people with large knives murdering seven people and leaving 48 injured

He was also involved in a filmed altercation with police after an ISIS-type flag was unfurled in Regent's Park in the documentary where he was detained by police

Amid a series of revelations last night, it was claimed that a friend of the suspect had reported him to the anti-terror hotline after he became radicalised by watching extremist videos and was shown here clutching an ISIS-style flag

An Islamic flag was unfurled in Regent's Park in broad daylight during the filming of the Channel 4 documentary last year with Butt pictured centre left

Abz (pictured in sunglasses) was also in the background when another protester Mohammed Shamsuddin, not involved in Saturday's terror attack, had a furious row with police

The married father-of-two, nicknamed 'Abz', who was born on April 20, 1990 in Jhelum, Pakistan - an area of the Punjab famous for supplying soldiers to the British Army during the Raj, earning it the nicknames 'city of soldiers' and 'land of martyrs and warriors'.

London Bridge attacker's links to 7/7 The ringleader of the London Bridge terror attack was able to carry out a brutal killing spree despite having links to one of the men behind the 7/7 bombings. Security services and the police were also monitoring Khuram Butt, 27, but deemed him a 'low priority', with the jihadi going on to lead the three-man massacre in Borough Market on Saturday which left seven dead and 48 injured. Butt, originally from Pakistan, is even believed to have links to the man who 'trained' Mohammed Siddique Khan (pictured above), one of the July 2005 London suicide bombers who killed 52 people after blowing up underground trains and a double decker bus. It raises questions as to how Butt, who previously appeared in a Channel 4 documentary about jihadis in the UK, was able to slip through the net and carry out the atrocity and even obtain a job on the London Underground. The Met Police confirmed Butt, a father-of-two, was one of 3,000 jihadis subject to 500 investigations in the UK but was 'prioritised in the lower echelons' of their inquiries despite being reported to anti-terror hotlines for extremism. It comes as Butt's older brother Saad, 29, is reported to have received funding from the Prevent organisation set up to fight back against extremism. According to The Times, Butt, who lived in Barking, previously worked at all-Muslim gym Ummah Fitness in east London with Sajeel Shahid, 41, who allegedly helped the 2005 bombers train in Pakistan ahead of the atrocity. Mr Shahid is also said to have links to hate preacher Anjem Choudary and was accused of setting up an Al Qaeda training camp in Pakistan. The Times reports London Transport worker Butt and Mr Shahid were 'close friends' who ran mixed martial arts classes, with Butt said to have tried 'radicalising' young pupils. It is also understood Butt was a supporter of Choudary's banned al-Muhajiroun group which has been linked to terror plots. Mr Shahid was named as a terror suspect in a court in New York in 2004 by former terrorist turned informant Mohammed Junaid Babar. Babar told the court Mr Shahid went to Pakistan in 2003 to meet an Al Qaeda leader and form the camp, but was later expelled from the country in 2005 after being detained for three months. Advertisement

In the early 1990s, the region was riven with political unrest, and when he was two, Butt's family moved to Britain.

The family, including his elder brother Saad and sister Haleema, arrived as asylum seekers and settled in Barking, East London. Butt's uncle told MailOnline that he only visited the land of his birth twice.

MailOnline revealed yesterday how he featured on a Channel 4 documentary about British jihadis only last year, in which he helped unfurl a flag linked to Islamic State in Regent's Park. The programme revealed Butt's links to two notorious preachers of hate, who were known to the security services.

In one scene, he was even filmed being spoken to by a police officer. Neighbours also said they had raised concerns about his extremist views.

Last night, Butt was named as one of the London Bridge attackers alomg with another member of the London Bridge terror gang, Rachid Redouane.

Police said Redouane, 30, 'claimed' to be Moroccan-Libyan. He was also carrying an Irish identity card when he was shot dead by police during Saturday's rampage, that left seven dead.

But there were a number of unanswered questions about Radouane's background, with police admitting they are not completely sure about his true identity.

Scotland Yard said he was also known as Rachid El-khdar, and used a different date of birth which made him five years younger.

Redouane's British wife Charisse O'Leary, 38, was among seven women detained by police in the aftermath of the attacks. A total of ten people remained in custody last night.

The revelations raised further questions about whether the counter terror strategy is working.

In other developments:

He was recently spotted urging people in east London not to take part in the general election;

Google refused to remove vile YouTube rants by two of the other hate preachers who inspired Butt after the Mail discovered a string of their sermons online;

Web developer James McMullan, 32, was named by his family as the second person who was murdered by Butt's gang;

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn was embroiled in a row after calling for Theresa May to resign over police cuts - just days before a general election;

Barriers were installed on three central London bridges to beef up security.

Mark Rowley, the UK's most senior counter terrorism officer, said Butt was under investigation by police and MI5 in 2015.

He said as this progressed a member of the public called the anti-terrorism hotline and reported his increasingly extremist behaviour.

But over the following months investigators could find no evidence of 'attack planning' and he was downgraded as a priority.

By Saturday night he was among the 'lower echelons' of the 3,000 suspected extremists identified by the security services.

'The investigation started in 2015, in the summer of 2015, and a few months later we received a call into the anti-terrorism hotline. This was from a member of the public referring to signs of extremism and radicalisation.

'That was referred to the investigation. All the work has never provided any evidence or intelligence of attack planning or other serious offences.

'As a consequence, as time went on, priorities moved on and it was in the lower echelons of investigations.'

Asked if police and MI5 were at fault, Mr Rowley added: 'In the work looking backwards that we have done so far I have not seen anything that shows a poor decision has been made.

'Of course we will probably discover information in covert communications that if we had known about it would have changed our judgment.

'But I am not aware of having anything in our hands that makes these the wrong decisions.Mr Rowley added that inquiries were ongoing to confirm the identity of third terrorist involved in Saturday night's horror attacks.

Khuram Butt, one of the three London Bridge terrorists, is thought to have worked at this KFC near Eastham Tube station

The married father-of-two, nicknamed 'Abz', who was born on April 20, 1990 in Jhelum, Pakistan. Pictured is the house he grew up in his hometown, which his family sold around 20 years ago

Pictured: Attacker working on the Underground even though he had appeared in extremist documentary This photograph of Butt was taken in May 2016 at West Kensington station during his training period By Sam Greenhill, Chief Reporter for the Daily Mail This is Kharum Butt working freely on the London Underground - despite having starred in The Jihadi Next Door documentary. The maniac knifeman worked at Westminster Tube station and had privileged access to tunnels under the Houses of Parliament. The 27-year-old, who hid his fanaticism from colleagues, also worked at Canada Water station in the Docklands. Incredibly, Butt was eventually sacked for poor attendance - not for being an Islamist fanatic, it was claimed last night. This photograph was taken in May 2016 at West Kensington station during his training period. Posing in an orange hi-viz jacket and blue uniform, he could be any one of thousands of London Underground staff who help keep the public safe. Yet the year previously he had featured in Channel 4's shock documentary about British jihadis. Last night a former colleague told the Mail: 'He went to Westminster, then Canada Water, then didn't pass his probation period. 'It was well known that he had appeared in this extremist documentary - but he was asked to leave London Underground not because of that, but due to poor attendance. 'We are now asking ourselves if he was planning something on the job? The intel he will have picked up about Parliament, and the movements of MPs travelling through the station, would potentially be of great value. Maybe he was planning some sort of spectacular there.' The source claimed Butt's other duties including working as part of a Station Response Team staffing special events such as the football at Wembley Stadium. They added: 'He was a very quiet and unassuming guy. I spoke to him at length about life and his beliefs. He was definitely religiously observant, but seemingly no more than anyone else.' Another former colleague claimed Butt passed vetting procedures to work at Westminster despite the video. 'All you have to do is to pay £20 for a local police station to give you a piece of paper saying they have given you the all clear. I doubt it goes anywhere near MI5.' Transport for London said Butt had worked there from May to October last year. Last night a spokesman for TfL declined to comment. Advertisement

One of Butt's neighbours, Erica Gaspari, told the Mail she reported him to police some two years ago after he tried to convert her kids to Islam by giving them sweets.

She said he defended the Lee Rigby killing and Charlie Hebdo attack.

How second killer made his way to Britain from Morocco via Ireland The Moroccan pastry chef who brought terror to London Bridge moved to Britain from Ireland around nine months before the attack. In Dublin, security sources confirmed that Rachid Redouane lived in the country for two years and left last October. He lived in Rathmines (pictured) which is considered upmarket, but also has a number of older Georgian buildings subdivided into cheap bedsits. Redouane appears to have gained the right to stay in Britain by marrying London-born Charisse O'Leary, 38, possibly in Dublin. Friends said she travelled to Ireland around three years ago when his UK visa ran out. The Irish special detective unit is now investigating his movements and contacts to see if he spent time with other terrorist suspects. It has not been confirmed what sort of Irish ID card he was carrying but it's believed it was a Garda National Immigration Bureau card. All non-nationals who are not citizens of a member State of the European Union, the European Economic Area or Switzerland must register with the Irish police. Speaking in Chicago, Irish leader Enda Kenny said the terrorist killer did not crop up on the intelligence service's radar. He said: 'As I pointed out in public and in the Dáil [parliament] on a number of occasions there are a small number of people in Ireland who are being monitored and observed in respect of radicalisation and matters relevant to that. 'In this case, these facts are being checked but my understanding is this individual was not a member of that small group.' Advertisement

The 42-year-old unemployed mother said: 'He wasn't happy about me confronting him. I said: 'You're imposing yourself on my kids.'

'He then started to have a go at me, saying: 'Your people, all of you, Americans, Europeans, going in our countries and killing our innocent children.

I said: 'Why are you saying this now?' and he replied, 'Because in the name of Allah I'm ready even to kill my mother.'

The brave woman added: 'He was so angry with me I thought he was going to take my life that day when I confronted him. I'm lucky I'm still alive.'

Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick vowed that officers will 'step up a gear' in the wake of the London Bridge terror attacks.

She described the police response as 'extraordinary' and praised an off-duty officer who fought three knifemen with his bare hands when they rampaged through Borough Market.

Two addresses in east London were searched by police in dramatic early morning raids.

The Metropolitan Police said officers entered properties in Newham and Barking at 4.15am.

Sources said that due to limited resources, MI5 have to prioritise monitoring those jihadists who have known attack plans.

In Butt's case, although he was known to the security services there was no suggestion that an attack was being planned.

In cases where MI5 know about attacks being planned, they stop them, but the unsophisticated nature of the attacks is making it increasingly difficult to know about them.

Butt was born in a corner of Pakistan known as the 'land of martyrs'.

In 2015, he prepared to abandon his pregnant wife Zahrah to wage holy war in Syria, until relatives talked him out of it.

He is said to have gone off the rails after his father died when he was 12 and was radicalised aged 24. Redouane was a pastry chef who also lived in Barking, east London.

Because of his alleged links to Libya, police are expected to examine whether he had any dealings with those involved in the Manchester Arena atrocity, in particular suicide bomber Salman Abedi.

Khuram wore an Arsenal shirt under his fake suicide belt as he and two friends crashed their van into crowds on London Bridge before slashing at people with large knives murdering seven people and leaving 48 injured on Saturday night.

He was reported to the anti-terror hotline after he became radicalised by watching extremist videos on YouTube and police were later warned about the suspect radicalising children in a local park two years ago - giving them sweets and money to listen to him.

A friend said he was never contacted by the police or MI5 about his concerns, adding: 'I did my bit, I know other people did their bit but the authorities did not do their bit'.

It also transpired tonight Mohammed Shafiq, chief executive of the Ramadhan Foundation, said: 'I was verballed assaulted by Khuram Butt one of the London Bridge killers the day after the brutal murder of Lee Rigby in May 2013.

'This took place on College Green, Westminster.

'Khuram Butt was with Anjem Choudhury the well known extremist and terrorist sympathiser.

'Khuram Butt called me a 'Murtad' which means traitor in Arabic and accused me of being a government stooge when I confronted Anjem Choudhury about him supporting terrorism and my public campaign against Lee Rigby's murder.

'The police turned up and Anjum, Khuram Butt and two other men were escorted away towards Millbank and I stayed in College Green.

'It is clear that Anjem Choudhury and his band of terrorist sympathisers were known to the Police for many years.

'Many of us in the British Muslim community have been demanding action against these extremists to no avail.

'I am not surprised that Khuram Butt carried out the terrorist attack and there are serious questions for the authorities.

'As in the Manchester terrorist attack, members of the Muslim community are reporting their suspicions about potential extremists which reinforces the strong links between the Muslim community and the police.

'What is clear that Anjem Choudhury, Khuram Butt and their group of terrorist sympathisers have been known to authorities and nothing was done for years.

'I call for an immediate investigation into what the police knew, what was done and why action was not taken against them'.

Back to work: London Bridge reopened yesterday after pedestrians were mowed down by the white van driven by jihadists

Heartbroken: Flowers were laid at the scene and one person was overwhelmed as he came to terms with what has happened

Butt had been left traumatised at the age of 12 by the death of his father, MailOnline can reveal, and he has also been run over outside his house in East London four years earlier.

His uncle Nasir Dar, in Jhelum, Pakistan, told MailOnline: 'Khurram came to Paksitan only twice in last two decade. First he came around eight years back and last time three and half years back.

'His father died almost 16 years ago. We have to do nothing with his this act of terrorism. Even London police have released all family members arrested a couple of days back. He had done MBA.'

Neighbours said his father 'brought the children up well' and that his loss had a profound effect on the youngster, paving the way for his extremism.

He later became radicalised and had an arranged marriage which produced two children.

A neighbour, who tried to resuscitate the father, said Butt was screaming hysterically when the family had found the head of the family 'stiff and on his side'.

When he was eight, the would-be terrorist ran out between two parked cars and was hit by a vehicle, breaking his teeth and damaging his leg, meaning he walked with a limp until the day he was shot dead.

Butt (pictured) started asking a neighbour about his van and how much it would cost to hire one in the hours before the attack

'The family received £2,500 in compensation from the insurers,' the neighbour said.

The Mail has learned that Butt had recently become a father again to a two month old baby girl and also had a two-year-old son.

A female neighbour said: 'He didn't interact with women in the area because of his views. He would happily talk to men but would ignore females.

'I only ever saw his wife if he was with her and she wore the full veil I don't think I ever saw her eyes.'

A relative of his wife said he had been concerned about Butt's views and tried to raise the alarm with the family.

'In 2015 I heard that he tried to go to Syria saying he was going for jihad.

'But the family rallied around and as his wife Zahra was pregnant they managed to stop him.

'I was concerned and tried to talk to her family about it, she should never have married him.

'I realised he was quite extreme at Eid in 2015‎ when he accused me of not being a Muslim and said I was non-believer because I chose not to keep a beard.

'He created a scene and basically told us all we were kuffars before leaving the party.

'I offered him my hand at the mosque a little while after that and he refused to shake it saying 'I don't shake hands with kuffars'. After that I didn't want anything to do with him.'

Another neighbour said he knew Butt because they were both Arsenal supporters.

'He was a nice guy, obviously religious but normal. We used to speak about Arsenal and I last chatted to him a few weeks ago after we won the FA Cup. There's was nothing untoward about him.'

The man said that while the extended family including the wife Zahra met to breakfast at a relatives' house on the night of the attack Butt was nowhere to be seen.

'The whole family was there, Zahra and the kids but Khuram didn't turn up.

'Zahra left shortly after 10‎ but I didn't speak to her much as since she's been married she doesn't speak to men.

'After marrying him she started wearing the full veil and stopped interacting with men. It's a bit weird for me.'

It appears he did not fade under the radar, as he was last month spotted urging people in East London not to participate in the general election and, according to The Guardian, he was a supporter of the banned Islamic extremist group al-Muhajiroun.

Michael Membo told the BBC he thought the terrorist was moving out because he had parked in the middle of the road and that his religious beliefs appeared to harden since the turn of the year.

He told Sky: 'He was a very interactive with the neighbours and with the kids. He joked around a lot, but we did not know whether to take it at face value.

'There were no signs, as such, but at the start of the year he started to grow his beard. He had never really had a long but I thought it was just done by choice.

'His style of clothing was more Islamic rather than casual. It became more frequent – sometimes he would wear a cap and sometimes he wouldn't.

'What we noticed was that he was speaking to the kids about his views.

'The kids would tell their parents but people would just say 'oh, it's only Abz – don't take him so seriously'.'

One of those youngsters told the BBC: 'He was unhappy about what women were wearing. He wanted women to wear hijabs.

'We would speak about Syria and Afghanistan and how these countries were getting bombed.'

Police teams could be seen analysing the rental van which ploughed into pedestrians on Saturday evening

The van used by jihadis on Saturday before they got out and started randomly stabbing victims was taken away by investigators yesterday

Cars, bikes and double decker buses were abandoned on London Bridge as investigations got underway

The trio began their killing spree just after 10pm when they ploughed into pedestrians in a white van on London Bridge

One of Gabriele Sciotto's photographs showed the face of the dying terrorist, wearing an Arsenal football shirt and combat trousers, just a few metres in front of him

The bodies of two men, believed to be the two terorists with him, lie in the road in Borough market after shots had been heard

Neighbours have described how Butt hid behind a 'nice guy' persona and duped parents into trusting him to be alone with their children.

A former school friend told how he turned violent during a friendly football match and stamped on an opponent's head.

Butt was part of a seven-a-side team that played reguarly at Newham Leisure Centre.

He was described as a 'really talented' but one who had a hair trigger temper on the pitch.

The friend, who asked not to be named, said: 'I used to play football with Khuram Butt five or six years ago.

'He used to come to the session in Newham where I live and play 7-a-side football.

'He was really good at football, a really talented player - and obviously an Arsenal fan.

'I remember one incident when a friend of mine and my brother were playing when there was a violent fight on the pitch and he [Butt] stepped on someone's head.

'It was only a friendly game but he instigated the fight. He was quite a heated, confrontational character.'

The friend said it became obvious that even as far back as 2012 Butt was becoming radicalized. 'It was obvious back then he was becoming more radicalised - I could see the beard was growing longer and longer and the way he spoke, he would use Islamic terms in his speech.

'I respect everyone for all their own views and I wasn't judging him at the time so thought nothing of it. 'It's just a shock to see him involved.'

Another friend who attended the same sixth form college told Mail Online how Butt, a keen Arsenal fan, was interested in hip hop and rap music. But he abandoned those interested after becoming radicalized and even took to praying on the football pitch before a match.

'He was just like a normal teenager - into hip hop music, rap music, into football - he loved Arsenal a lot,' said the friend. 'He was 24 or 25 when he became radicalised - you could see it.

He used to pray on the football pitch. 'He definitely changed between college and today - his appearance and views. 'It's really shocking that someone you once knew is one the front page of every paper on the planet.'

It also emerged that police may also have questioned him last year after a photographer captured a detective carrying secret notes detailing an interview.

He was 'euphoric' and asking about how to hire a van just hours before the London Bridge atrocity, it was claimed last night.

A neighbour said that Butt wandered over and started asking about his van and how much it would cost to hire one.

Armed police stormed two new properties in east London today and neighbours spoke of hearing up to 30 bangs that could have been gunshots

Several men were pictured laying on the floor in handcuffs outside the block of flats yesterday in a raid which is believed to be in connection with the London Bridge attack

Exclusive video shows several men up being sat up against wall by police as they carried out a raid in barking on Sunday morning

Pictured: Three of the suspects arrested by police on Sunday in connection with the attacks after the raid

A man bends over and covers his head as he is led from the block of flats where one of the terrorists reportedly lived

Victims of the London Bridge massacre Five of the seven victims who were killed in Saturday night's attack on London Bridge have been named. Kirsty Boden, 28, from Loxton, Australia Kirsty Boden, 28, from Loxton, in South Australia, was attacked by the knife-wielding terrorists while coming to the aid of another injured person Kirsty Boden, 28, from Loxton, in South Australia, was attacked by the knife-wielding terrorists while coming to the aid of other injured people. Graduating from Flinders University in 2009, Ms Boden moved to the UK and began working as a health professional a few years later. But when not at work Ms Boden often travelled, detailing trips to Liverpool, Germany, Bulgaria Switzerland and Lithuania through her blog. Recently she also journeyed to Kiev, in Ukraine, to attend Eurovision - supporting her home nation by wearing an Australian flag T-shirt. James McMullan, 32, from Hackney, east London James McMullan (pictured with his sister Melissa) was enjoying a night out with school friends to celebrate the launch of a new £1m business when he was caught in the attack E-learning business owner James McMullan, 32, from Hackney in east London, was killed while he was out celebrate his first million pound deal. He was out with school friends at the Barrowboy and Banker pub when he stepped out, just moments before the terrorists crashed their van and began stabbing people. Mr McMullan was waiting for his friends to finish their drinks, after he was refused re-entry to the pub by a doorman. His younger sister Melissa fought back tears as she paid moving tribute to him and issued a heartfelt plea for people to oppose the terrorists. Christine Archibald, 30, from British Columbia, Canada The first victim of the London Bridge terror attack was named as Canadian Christine Archibald. Friends asked well-wishers to volunteer for a good cause in tribute to her Canadian Christine Archibald, 30, had died in her fiance's arms after being struck by a speeding van. Ms Archibald worker at a homeless shelter, would have had 'no understanding of the callous cruelty that caused her death', her family have said. She is the first victim of the atrocity in London Bridge on Saturday night to be named. The attack killed seven people and critically injured 21 others. It is believed she was one of those hit by a hired van which attackers swerved on and off the pavement on Saturday night, ploughing into pedestrians. Alexandre Pigeard, 27, from Normandy, France Frenchman Alexandre Pigeard, 27, from Colleville-Montgomery, in Normandy, was killed at the Boro Bistro restaurant where he worked Frenchman Alexandre Pigeard, 27, from Colleville-Montgomery, in Normandy, was killed at the Boro Bistro restaurant where he worked. Mr Pigeard was stabbed in the neck in front of friends, according to his manager. He was originally from Caen, and had completed his schooling at the Hérouville-Saint-Clair high school. He was a huge fan of electronic music collective, and organised gigs for Cargo, the Caen music venue, and the Nordik Impakt electronic music festival. Mr Pigeard had been living in London for two and a half years, after moving from Colleville-Montgomery, a small town nestled on the banks of the River Orne between Caen and Ouistreham. There are still 36 injured being treated in hospitals across London - with 18 of them in a critical condition. Four people remain unaccounted for and their families and friends have issued appeals for information. Sara Zelenak, 21, from Brisbane, Australia Sara Zelenak has been missing since becoming separated from friends on Saturday Sara Zelenak, 21, from Brisbane, became separated from her friends and has not been seen since, family friends have said Family friend Diane Winter said they have had no news from the Australian consulate about Ms Zelenak's welfare. Ms Zelenak usually calls her mother everyday from London where she works as a nanny, Ms Winter said. But Ms Zelenak has not answered her phone or responded to texts since she was separated from her friends the moment chaos broke out in central London. Xavier Thomas, from France The family of Xavier Thomas are desperately searching for him. He was with his girlfriend, Christine Delcros, when the attack happened. She is said to be injured in hospital The missing French citizen is believed to be Xavier Thomas, whose sister-in-law posted a desperate message on Facebook yesterday. He is understood to have been with his girlfriend Christine Delcros when the attack took place. Ms Delcros is said to be injured in hospital. Her sister Nathalie Cros Brohan wrote online: 'We are on our way to London, my sister Christine Delcros and her boyfriend Xavier Thomas have been victims of #londonattack #LondonBridge.' 'My sister is seriously injured and hospitalised. I appeal to all those who have news of Xavier Thomas that is missing ... he is not one of the 4 French found. We are terribly worried.' Ignacio Echeverria, 39, from Las Rozas, Spain Ignacio Echeverria (pictured) was last seen on Saturday night lying on a pavement near London Bridge after confronting one of the knife-wielding terrorists as he was attacking a female victim Ignacio Echeverria used his skateboard as a weapon against a knife-wielding terrorist as he tried to save a woman from being attacked, it has been revealed. The was last seen on Saturday night lying on the pavement near London Bridge after confronting one of the knife-wielding terrorists as he was attacking a female victim. The 39-year-old, who lived in Poplar, east London, and came from Las Rozas near Madrid, tried to save the unidentified woman as he returned from a park with friends where he had been skateboarding. His sister Isabel, an account operations manager with WEX Virtual Payments who also lives in London, has launched a social media appeal for help in tracking him down after failing to find him following approaches to hospitals, the police and the Spanish consulate. Sebastien Belanger, from France Frenchman Sebastien Belanger (pictured with his girlfriend Gerda Bennet) has not been seen since the attack Frenchman Sebastien Belanger has not been seen since the attack. His girlfriend, Gerda Bennet, who was in Malta at the time, has returned to London and posted appeals to find him on Facebook. She wrote: 'I still have no news. Please if anyone has seen him or knows anything contact me.' She said Sebastien was 'exactly at the place where the attack happened' and has not heard from him for more than 24 hours. His personal Facebook page states that he has worked at Blueprint Cafe, near Tower Bridge, and Coq D'Argent, in Bank. An appeal page, called Help Us Find Sebastien Belanger has been created. Advertisement

Three terror attacks in three months ... and ALL killers were known to police: Fears over MI5 warning system as more slip through security net

Shocking: The London Bridge attack led by Kharum Butt was the third to hit Britain in three months and all involved people known to the security services

The three terror attacks to hit Britain in the past three months - claiming 34 lives - have all been carried out by jihadis who were known to the police and MI5.

It raises questions about the security services' ability to watch the estimated 23,000 people in Britain considered a potential terror threat.

Last night it was confirmed that London Bridge massacre mastermind Khuram Butt, 27, had been investigated two years ago but was considered a lower risk threat.

Butt appeared on a TV show about British jihadis and was an associate of hate preachers including Anjem Choudary.

Last month MI5 also launched urgent probes into why it missed the danger posed by the Manchester bomber Salman Abedi, 22.

It came amid claims that the authorities were repeatedly told that Mr Abedi was a danger to the public.

Teachers and religious figures in Manchester who knew the killer raised concerns about his extremist views on numerous occasions over several years.

Home Secretary Amber Rudd said missed chances to catch Mr Abedi would be investigated, as it was claimed that US officials warned MI5 last year that he was planning an attack.

She said: 'Of course people will want to look afterwards to see whether there are signals that could have been learnt, how could we do this be‎tter.'

MI5 carried out a quick review of intelligence held abou‎t him in the aftermath of the May 22 attack.

The second inquiry will be more detailed and will look at the decision-making before the bombing, including what was known about his co-conspirators.

The British-born jihadi who killed five and injured 29 in Westminster in March was revealed to be a middle-aged criminal career who MI5 had investigated in the past and had a previous conviction for stabbing a man in the nose.

Last month MI5 has launched urgent probes into why it missed the danger posed by the Manchester bomber Salman Abedi, 22, left. The security services also admitted knowing of Khalid Masood, 52, right, before he killed five in Westminster in March

English teacher Khalid Masood, 52, a 'lone wolf' attacker, who was living in the Birmingham area, had a series of convictions for assault and other crimes.

Scotland Yard revealed how Masood was known by a number of aliases and MailOnline revealed he was born Adrian Elms to a single mother in Kent before his religious conversion.

Masood has used the names Khalid Choudry and Adrian Ajao among others.

He grew up in a £300,000 house in the seaside town of Rye, East Sussex and had a long criminal history.

His first conviction was for criminal damage in November 1983, when he was just 19. His last was for an attack in 2003, where he stabbed a 22-year-old man in the face, leaving him slumped in the driveway of a nursing home in Eastbourne. The victim was left needing cosmetic surgery after the vicious attack.

Masood is understood to have spent time in Lewes jail in East Sussex, Wayland prison in Norfolk and Ford open prison in West Sussex.

He had never been convicted of terror offences, although Theresa May revealed that he had been on MI5's radar a number of years ago.

Michael Adebolajo, who murdered Lee Rigby, was not considered a serious threat by MI5 and they allegedly tried to recruit him

Police insist there was no intelligence suggesting he was about to unleash a terror attack and described him as a peripheral figure.

Fusilier Rigby, 25, was run over and then butchered by Muslim converts Michael Adebolajo and Michael Adebowale in 2013 outside Woolwich barracks in south-east London

British spies also failed to track the jihadi killers of soldier Lee Rigby – after MI5 decided they did not pose enough of a danger, an official report into the terror attack revealed three years ago.

Fusilier Rigby, 25, was run over and then butchered by Muslim converts Michael Adebolajo and Michael Adebowale in 2013 outside Woolwich barracks in south-east London.

Both men were known to MI5 – especially Adebolajo, 29, who was arrested in Kenya in 2010 attempting to cross the border into Somalia to fight for the African terror group Al Shabaab. He was passed to British spies.

In the months leading up the brutal murder in May 2013, the killer was also posting extremist material on the internet.

Despite their history of extremism MI5 assessed the pair as not posing a sufficient danger to require full monitoring.

Adebolajo has claimed spies attempted to turn him into an informant after he was arrested in Kenya in 2010 as he attempted to join extremists in Somalia.

After Drummer Rigby's murder, several witnesses said Adebolajo had complained of his treatment by the security services.

Adebolajo and Adebowale, both converts to Islam, had been known to the security services for up to eight years before the attack.

The spate of recent terror attacks in the UK has prompted the most intense scrutiny of the security services' efforts to keep potentially violent extremists in check since the aftermath of the July 7 bombings.

There are 500 current terrorism investigations, involving 3,000 'subjects of interest'. But in addition there are a further 20,000 people considered in the past whose risk remains 'subject to review'.

Scotland Yard said a small number of the highest priority investigations involve 'current attack planning' and these investigations 'command a significant proportion of our resource'.

The remaining inquiries 'focus on other activities relating to active support or facilitation of terrorism'.

Authorities have stopped 18 plots since 2013, including five since the Westminster attack.

Shashank Joshi, senior research fellow at security think tank the Royal United Services Institute, said the latest case 'exemplifies the problems faced by the British authorities'.

He said: 'Khuram Butt was known to MI5, but it is important to remember that there are several thousand Britons regarded as capable of terrorism, and several hundred under active investigation.

'No intelligence agency in a democratic state can have the resources or powers to monitor such a large number of suspects indefinitely. Those who show no signs of active plotting will have to be downgraded.

'Where plots are low-tech, involving only widely available knives or vehicles, it will be harder to spot indications of plotting.'

Bridge terrorist's links to two extremist preachers: Jihadi was filmed at extremist events alongside cleric who hailed his support for ISIS

Khuram Butt appeared alongside two notorious Islamist preachers in a TV documentary

Khuram Butt appeared alongside two notorious Islamist preachers in a TV documentary.

He was filmed at extremist events alongside Mohammed Shamsuddin, who has publicly hailed his support for Islamic State.

Shamsuddin, who has claimed state benefits since he was 18, has also called for Sharia law in the UK and made chilling warnings about a 'backlash' by British Muslims.

He was also pictured with Abu Haleema, who was accused of radicalising a British schoolboy who was convicted over a plot to behead police officers during an Anzac Day parade in Australia.

Shamsuddin is a disciple of Omar Bakri Mohammed – the Tottenham Ayatollah – and his successor Anjem Choudary.

He has been at the forefront of Islamist protests over the past decade, and openly admitted preaching a message of 'world domination'.

In a Channel 4 documentary last year, Shamsuddin was shown praying with a group of followers including one of the London Bridge attackers in London's Regent's Park under the black flag of Islam.

Shamsuddin told his followers: 'The Sharia is coming to the UK – this black flag you see here one day is gonna be on 10 Downing Street.'

Minutes later, the pair were shown in a confrontation with police who had received a tip-off about the flag

After an ugly standoff, they were detained for an hour – but the flag was not discovered.

Shamsuddin later told the filmmakers: 'Our message is deadly, we are calling for world domination, and for Sharia for the UK.

After criticising British foreign policies and treatment of Muslims, he added: What's gonna happen, you're gonna face a backlash in this country... if you're gonna suppress and suppress I mean it's like a tinder box, it's gonna explode.'

There is no suggestion Shamsuddin or Haleema are connected to Saturday's attack.

Abu Haleema (left) and Mohammed Shamsuddin (above) watching ISIS videos as they appear in their documentary The Jihadis Next Door

The jihadi was filmed at extremist events alongside Mohammed Shamsuddin, pictured, who has publicly hailed his support for Islamic State. There is no suggestion he is connected to Saturday's attack



