Westminster attacker acted alone, motive may never be known

Police investigating the Westminster attack have concluded that Khalid Masood acted entirely alone for reasons that may never be known, The Guardian reported on Sunday.

In the most detailed breakdown yet of events on Westminster Bridge and parliament on Wednesday, police said that the entire attack, in which Masood had killed four people before being shot dead, lasted a mere 82 seconds.

After four days of intensive inquiries across England and Wales, involving hundreds of officers, the Metropolitan police said they had so far failed to establish the reason for the attack. It is continuing to look at whether Masood was prompted by online propaganda by Daesh, which has claimed he was a “soldier”, or whether he had some other sense of grievance.

But deputy assistant Metropolitan police commissioner Neil Basu said: “We still believe that Masood acted alone on the day and there is no information or intelligence to suggest there are further attacks planned.”

The security services do not like the term “lone wolf”, feeling that it glamorises an attacker, and instead prefer “lone actor”. Although 11 people were arrested in the aftermath of the attack, nine have since been released, with no further action to be taken. A 58-year-old man arrested in Birmingham remained in custody on Saturday while a 32-year-old woman from Manchester has been released on bail.

Police are investigating media reports that Masood checked his encrypted messaging service WhatsApp – or even sent a message – just before the attack, which hinted at others being involved. The police statement confirming that he was a lone actor does not appear to support suggestions that he had been in touch with an accomplice.

Source: MENA