The terror suspect connected to the recent Westminster terror attack has been detained after being found with a “rucksack full of knives” near the Parliament square after the police and MI5 tracked him on an intricate web of CCTV cameras. Witnesses reported that the bearded man, wearing a tracksuit and trainers, was crossing Whitehall among general tourists and political staff members when a police car pulled up and authorities confronted him.
Involved in the death of five people, the suspect was being tailed ever since he got off the Underground at St James's Park, and headed towards Westminster. Security officers say the police were tipped off by the man's family. As covert teams trailed him on ground, control rooms in New Scotland Yard and the MI5's Thames House saw live feed, before they issued an order for them to swoop in. The suspect was soon surrounded by a large number of armed police who pinned him to the ground a handful of yards away from Downing Street.
The unnamed suspect is 27 years old and reportedly known to authorities. He is believed to have been under round-the-clock surveillance and tracked by two teams, with armed officers on standby, along with a monitoring of his phone and other means of communication. A spokesperson of Scotland Yard said, “A man has been arrested in Whitehall this afternoon, at approximately 14:22, following a stop and search as part of an ongoing operation. The man, aged in his late twenties, was arrested on suspicion of possession of an offensive weapon and on suspicion of the commission, preparation, and instigation of acts of terrorism. Knives have been recovered from him.”
He added, “He is being detained under the Terrorism Act and is in custody in a south London police station. Detectives from the Counter Terrorism Command are continuing their investigation, and as a result of this arrest there is no immediate known threat.” Another government spokesman informed Prime Minister Theresa May wasn't in Downing Street at the time of the incident. May, meanwhile, paid tribute to security services. “I think it shows our police and intelligence and security services are on alert, as they always are, looking to keep us safe and secure. We owe them a huge debt of gratitude. They are often unseen, unheard, yet the job they do, day in and day out, is really important and we should thank them for it.”
The arrest comes a little over a month after Westminster was put on a heightened state of alert following a terror attack. Security has been visibly boosted after Khalid Masood rammed his car through four people on Westminster Bridge before he fatally stabbed Pc Keith Palmer just inside the grounds of Parliament on March 22.
Scotland Yard has recently stepped up surveillance to track down two more terror plots in the near future, inspired by the Al Qaeda and ISIS. The new terror attacks are not a part of the recent attacks and are being linked to a few cases.
A Yemeni-born Briton, 21 year-old Mohamed Amoudi was recently held over involvement in an 'active terror plot' along with six others. A 21-year old woman was shot during a raid in Willesden, is being suspected to be Amoudi's relative. A 28-year old man registered at the raided address was also arrested as a supporter of a cleric who was recently banned from entering the UK for inspiring Britons to join the jihadists in Syria.
Two extremists who were acquitted over a beheading plot during Remembrance Day have been placed under stringent anti-terrorism controls and armed police escort have been deployed to escort and protect the Queen's Household Cavalry during ceremonial events. Unprecedented security measures have been introduced across London.
The last Westminister terror incident has highlighted the rise in knife-crimes and raised an alarm to clean up the streets of London witnessing a surge in knife crime. This has been the highest in the past five years – with serious knife related offences rising for the second year in a row. Yvette Cooper, Labour Chairwoman of the Commons home affairs select committee, denounced the government's inability to tackle the issue, as knife crime rose by 14 percent and gun crime by 13 percent this year.
Crimes involving sharp objects and knives in England and Wales have increased to more than 32,000 according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The NHS has also reported a rise in cases by 13 percent to over 4,000 over last year.
The steady rise in the crimes is being attributed to laws restricting the police's stop-and-search tactics, that was introduced when Theresa May was Home Secretary. The government did not seem to have a set agenda in place, with the Metropolitan Police launching investigations into three separate fatal stabbings in the capital within a week. The Met police have said that the restrictions have emboldened people to carry knives.
Some analysts think that the police have become more tactful in finding intelligence-led stop and search operations and these were exactly what was expected from Theresa May's restrictions. However, criminologists have not been able to identify a single reason behind the rise and the authorities have to approach these occurrences seriously to maintain law and order.
