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| The London Bridge attack: brutality, heroism and troubling questions | The London Bridge attack: brutality, heroism and troubling questions |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| At 8.56pm and 40 seconds on Saturday 3 June 2017, Kirsty Boden sat down at a table in the sunken courtyard of the Boro Bistro restaurant. | At 8.56pm and 40 seconds on Saturday 3 June 2017, Kirsty Boden sat down at a table in the sunken courtyard of the Boro Bistro restaurant. |
| In the shadow of Southwark Cathedral, Boden, a 28-year-old nurse, ate dinner with two friends. They drank wine, talked about love and work, and made friends with the people on the next table. | In the shadow of Southwark Cathedral, Boden, a 28-year-old nurse, ate dinner with two friends. They drank wine, talked about love and work, and made friends with the people on the next table. |
| Their summer evening out, surrounded by the bustle of London Bridge, stretched on past 10pm. Almost every moment of it was recorded on CCTV. And then, at 10.07pm and 17 seconds, there was a mighty crash – and debris rained down into the courtyard from a white van that had ploughed into railings overhead. | Their summer evening out, surrounded by the bustle of London Bridge, stretched on past 10pm. Almost every moment of it was recorded on CCTV. And then, at 10.07pm and 17 seconds, there was a mighty crash – and debris rained down into the courtyard from a white van that had ploughed into railings overhead. |
| For Boden, her friend Melanie Schroeder said, it was the choices made in those instinctive first moments that would prove decisive. At the inquest into the deaths of eight people during that night’s terrorist attack, Schroeder recalled: “With the crash of the van and the rubble falling, Kirsty jumped up and said words to the effect of: ‘I’m a nurse, I have to go and help, I need to see if they need help.’” | For Boden, her friend Melanie Schroeder said, it was the choices made in those instinctive first moments that would prove decisive. At the inquest into the deaths of eight people during that night’s terrorist attack, Schroeder recalled: “With the crash of the van and the rubble falling, Kirsty jumped up and said words to the effect of: ‘I’m a nurse, I have to go and help, I need to see if they need help.’” |
| A waiter at the restaurant, Alexandre Pigeard, 26, also rushed to help. Schroeder heard screaming and believed it to be an overreaction. She thought to herself: “Calm the fuck down, it’s just a crash.” | A waiter at the restaurant, Alexandre Pigeard, 26, also rushed to help. Schroeder heard screaming and believed it to be an overreaction. She thought to herself: “Calm the fuck down, it’s just a crash.” |
| But it was not just a crash. Three men had come sprinting out of the van, shouting: “Allahu Akbar,” their arms moving fast as they came. In the melee, Boden was separated from her friends, and rushed towards an injured man on the ground. | |
| Pigeard had been stabbed and lay dying. As she bent over him, Boden was set upon by all three terrorists. She was stabbed in the chest by ringleader Khuram Butt, 27, who made a “swinging motion” at her with his knife. | Pigeard had been stabbed and lay dying. As she bent over him, Boden was set upon by all three terrorists. She was stabbed in the chest by ringleader Khuram Butt, 27, who made a “swinging motion” at her with his knife. |
| Boden’s friends later found her collapsed in an alleyway. A passing GP, Dr Saira Khan, was one of several who made desperate attempts to save her life. But she could not be saved. | Boden’s friends later found her collapsed in an alleyway. A passing GP, Dr Saira Khan, was one of several who made desperate attempts to save her life. But she could not be saved. |
| The inquest also heard the stories of six others who died that night: Xavier Thomas, 45, Christine Archibald, 30, Sara Zelenak, 21, Sébastien Bélanger, 36, James McMullan, 32, and Ignacio Echeverría, 39. The first to be hit was Archibald, who was with her fiance, Tyler Ferguson, when the van first sped across London Bridge and zigzagged on to the pavement. | The inquest also heard the stories of six others who died that night: Xavier Thomas, 45, Christine Archibald, 30, Sara Zelenak, 21, Sébastien Bélanger, 36, James McMullan, 32, and Ignacio Echeverría, 39. The first to be hit was Archibald, who was with her fiance, Tyler Ferguson, when the van first sped across London Bridge and zigzagged on to the pavement. |
| Before the van appeared, Ferguson said, the couple had shared a moment of tenderness: “Chrissy stopped me out of nowhere, grabbed me close and gave me a passionate kiss after telling me she loved me.” Then she was hit, and left in the middle of the road, dying in front of her fiance. Thomas was speaking to his son on the phone as he walked across the bridge; the impact catapulted him into the Thames, from which it would take three days to reclaim his body. | Before the van appeared, Ferguson said, the couple had shared a moment of tenderness: “Chrissy stopped me out of nowhere, grabbed me close and gave me a passionate kiss after telling me she loved me.” Then she was hit, and left in the middle of the road, dying in front of her fiance. Thomas was speaking to his son on the phone as he walked across the bridge; the impact catapulted him into the Thames, from which it would take three days to reclaim his body. |
| The violence wore on for 10 minutes. As well as the two killed by the van and the six stabbed to death, another 48 people were injured. | The violence wore on for 10 minutes. As well as the two killed by the van and the six stabbed to death, another 48 people were injured. |
| It only stopped when armed police shot the three terrorists dead. So chaotic was the aftermath that the police feared there could be two groups of attackers. After the violence began, the perpetrators removed their outer clothing, meaning that the three who had been shot bore little resemblance to the description the police had first received. | It only stopped when armed police shot the three terrorists dead. So chaotic was the aftermath that the police feared there could be two groups of attackers. After the violence began, the perpetrators removed their outer clothing, meaning that the three who had been shot bore little resemblance to the description the police had first received. |
| Special forces in a “blue Thunder” helicopter were sent into central London. Some members of the public in the area fled, some helped, some stood and watched. They struggled to comprehend what was going on and the dangers posed. They were not the only ones. MI5, the domestic security service, had spent most of the previous two years trying to understand what danger Butt posed. They had investigated him since 2015 over concerns he was an Islamist extremist planning an attack, and who might also travel to join Isis in Syria. | |
| London Bridge joined a list of attacks the UK has suffered since the modern age of terrorism began in September 2001. It was unique in two ways. | London Bridge joined a list of attacks the UK has suffered since the modern age of terrorism began in September 2001. It was unique in two ways. |
| It was the first marauding attack in the UK by jihadists, who had such a free run of the area that one stopped to bend down and tie his laces. Hunting in a pack, they shed so much blood that after storming one restaurant, Butt rinsed blood off his knife under a tap, then wiped it on his beard. | |
| The second grim milestone was that it was the first atrocity committed by someone under active investigation by MI5, the security service which leads in identifying terrorist suspects. | The second grim milestone was that it was the first atrocity committed by someone under active investigation by MI5, the security service which leads in identifying terrorist suspects. |
| As the families learned more through the inquests process, they came to believe that enough pieces of the jigsaw had been known to stop Butt before the attack. | As the families learned more through the inquests process, they came to believe that enough pieces of the jigsaw had been known to stop Butt before the attack. |
| Overcoming their profound grief, they fought to turn the court proceedings into an inquiry into the effectiveness of national security and the state’s competence in keeping people safe. | Overcoming their profound grief, they fought to turn the court proceedings into an inquiry into the effectiveness of national security and the state’s competence in keeping people safe. |
| Families of the bereaved rejected the official explanation, supported by police and MI5 reviews, that there was nothing more that could have been done, and believed that “opportunities galore” had been missed to stop Butt. | Families of the bereaved rejected the official explanation, supported by police and MI5 reviews, that there was nothing more that could have been done, and believed that “opportunities galore” had been missed to stop Butt. |
| The Guardian understands that MI5 did have “eyes on” surveillance on Butt at times and did see him associating with his two accomplices, Rachid Redouane and Youssef Zaghba, but did not appreciate their significance or the murder they were plotting. Examination of the phones registered to the three east London men could have shown regular contact. The families could not understand how MI5 missed that Butt was teaching at an Islamic school with Zaghba, and that the three men went swimming together. | The Guardian understands that MI5 did have “eyes on” surveillance on Butt at times and did see him associating with his two accomplices, Rachid Redouane and Youssef Zaghba, but did not appreciate their significance or the murder they were plotting. Examination of the phones registered to the three east London men could have shown regular contact. The families could not understand how MI5 missed that Butt was teaching at an Islamic school with Zaghba, and that the three men went swimming together. |
| The defence from MI5 and their police partners was that they saw no evidence of attack planning. That was not in dispute. The families believed a more thorough investigation would have uncovered those clues. | The defence from MI5 and their police partners was that they saw no evidence of attack planning. That was not in dispute. The families believed a more thorough investigation would have uncovered those clues. |
| The families felt more inquiries should have been made of an east London gym all three terrorists attended, which was allegedly run by a known extremist, who in turn, was also linked to the school where Butt and Zaghba taught young children. Preparations such as buying three 12-inch knives used to stab so many started weeks before the attack. | The families felt more inquiries should have been made of an east London gym all three terrorists attended, which was allegedly run by a known extremist, who in turn, was also linked to the school where Butt and Zaghba taught young children. Preparations such as buying three 12-inch knives used to stab so many started weeks before the attack. |
| Butt was seen as so dangerous his own brother-in-law reported him to the anti-terrorism hotline – but the information got lost and never made its way to the police and MI5 teams investigating him. Neither did information from Italy about Zaghba relating how he had told one official he wanted “to be a terrorist” and that he was now believed to be in the UK. MI5 said that had got lost in its system, and accepted it might have helped link him to Butt. | Butt was seen as so dangerous his own brother-in-law reported him to the anti-terrorism hotline – but the information got lost and never made its way to the police and MI5 teams investigating him. Neither did information from Italy about Zaghba relating how he had told one official he wanted “to be a terrorist” and that he was now believed to be in the UK. MI5 said that had got lost in its system, and accepted it might have helped link him to Butt. |
| The argument over the effectiveness of investigators will continue. However, since 2017 counter-terrorism investigators have been concerned about the sheer level of demand on MI5 and police, which appears at times to exhaust their resources and capabilities to investigate all those who threaten national security. | The argument over the effectiveness of investigators will continue. However, since 2017 counter-terrorism investigators have been concerned about the sheer level of demand on MI5 and police, which appears at times to exhaust their resources and capabilities to investigate all those who threaten national security. |
| Despite Butt being suspected of wanting to stage an attack, investigations into him were twice suspended as resources were shifted onto higher-priority investigations. | Despite Butt being suspected of wanting to stage an attack, investigations into him were twice suspended as resources were shifted onto higher-priority investigations. |
| Witness L, who testified at the inquest for MI5, said the second suspension on 21 March, the day before the Westminster Bridge attack, came about because the severity of threat of terrorist attack from others was without precedent: “In my 28 years, most of which has been in international counter-terrorism, I cannot recall a time as alarming as this.” | Witness L, who testified at the inquest for MI5, said the second suspension on 21 March, the day before the Westminster Bridge attack, came about because the severity of threat of terrorist attack from others was without precedent: “In my 28 years, most of which has been in international counter-terrorism, I cannot recall a time as alarming as this.” |
| On 3 June, Butt, now back under active MI5 investigation, used his own mobile phone, seemingly unmonitored, to rent the van used in the attack. He had originally hired a much bigger lorry which would have killed more people, but the rental company he chose was closed. | On 3 June, Butt, now back under active MI5 investigation, used his own mobile phone, seemingly unmonitored, to rent the van used in the attack. He had originally hired a much bigger lorry which would have killed more people, but the rental company he chose was closed. |
| The families’ distrust of the authorities was heightened by a refusal to grant them legal aid, while the government side boosted its legal firepower compared to the Westminster Bridge inquests, funded by the taxpayer. | The families’ distrust of the authorities was heightened by a refusal to grant them legal aid, while the government side boosted its legal firepower compared to the Westminster Bridge inquests, funded by the taxpayer. |
| The families’ legal team, headed by terrorism prosecutor Gareth Patterson QC, also pressed the authorities at the inquest why London Bridge was left without protective barriers. Weeks before the attack, PC Matthew Hone, who was responsible for security advice at City of London police, sent an email to his superiors warning that barriers should be put in place at London Bridge. He said that the area was probably his “biggest concern” as a target for an unsophisticated operation. | The families’ legal team, headed by terrorism prosecutor Gareth Patterson QC, also pressed the authorities at the inquest why London Bridge was left without protective barriers. Weeks before the attack, PC Matthew Hone, who was responsible for security advice at City of London police, sent an email to his superiors warning that barriers should be put in place at London Bridge. He said that the area was probably his “biggest concern” as a target for an unsophisticated operation. |
| Nevertheless, transport authorities were not told of the threat posed. Patterson on behalf of the families said London Bridge was “crying out for barriers”. But senior officers from City of London police and the Met said that there was no specific threat. Six days after the attack, barriers were installed. | Nevertheless, transport authorities were not told of the threat posed. Patterson on behalf of the families said London Bridge was “crying out for barriers”. But senior officers from City of London police and the Met said that there was no specific threat. Six days after the attack, barriers were installed. |
| The inquest became a search for the truth about how the country keeps itself safe in an age of terrorism, and was the families’ only chance for answers. But during it, from people such as Kirsty Boden’s softly spoken partner, James Holler, emerged simpler truths about love and loss. Speaking two years after her death, Holler told the inquest: “I am still head over heels in love with Kirsty, and I miss her so much.” | The inquest became a search for the truth about how the country keeps itself safe in an age of terrorism, and was the families’ only chance for answers. But during it, from people such as Kirsty Boden’s softly spoken partner, James Holler, emerged simpler truths about love and loss. Speaking two years after her death, Holler told the inquest: “I am still head over heels in love with Kirsty, and I miss her so much.” |
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