London attacker interested in jihad but 'no evidence of Isis link' - police

The scene of the attack at Westminster last week (Left: Attacker Khalid Masood)

A young girl lights a candle during a candlelit vigil at Trafalgar Square. Photo: GETTY

Westminster attacker Khalid Masood receives treatment after being shot during the attack. Photo: Stefan Rousseau/PA Wire

While Khalid Masood was shot by police just a few yards inside the gate, unfortunately five precious lives were taken and dozens of others were injured.

Estelle Shirbon

March 27 2017 8:12 PM

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• London attacker interested in jihad but 'no evidence of Isis link' - police

  Independent.ie

  British police said on Monday they had found no evidence that Khalid Masood, who killed four people in an attack on Britain's parliament last week, had any association with Islamic State or Al Qaeda, but he was clearly interested in jihad.

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British police said on Monday they had found no evidence that Khalid Masood, who killed four people in an attack on Britain's parliament last week, had any association with Islamic State or Al Qaeda, but he was clearly interested in jihad.

Masood drove a car through a crowd of pedestrians on Westminster Bridge, killing three and injuring about 50, then ran through the gates of parliament and fatally stabbed a police officer, before he was shot dead by police.

Neil Basu, senior national coordinator for UK counter-terrorism policing, said there was no evidence that Masood had been radicalised in prison in 2003 and it was pure speculation janto suggest that had happened.

Masood, 52, was British-born and had several previous convictions for offences such as grievous bodily harm, possession of a knife and public order offences. He had not been convicted of any terrorism offence.

Westminster attacker Khalid Masood receives treatment after being shot during the attack. Photo: Stefan Rousseau/PA Wire

“His attack method appears to be based on low sophistication, low tech, low cost techniques copied from other attacks, and echo the rhetoric of IS leaders in terms of methodology and attacking police and civilians, but at this stage I have no evidence he discussed this with others," Basu said in a statement.

"I know when, where and how Masood committed his atrocities, but now I need to know why," he said, appealing to anyone who may have been in contact with him on the day of the attack to come forward.

A young girl lights a candle during a candlelit vigil at Trafalgar Square. Photo: GETTY

• Read more: 'I have shed many tears' - Mother of Westminster killer says she is 'deeply shocked, saddened'
• Read more: Tourist killed in London terror attack 'would not have borne ill feelings towards attacker', family claim

Masood was born Adrian Russell Ajao and on Monday his mother Janet Ajao issued a statement saying was "shocked, saddened and numbed" by his actions.

"I do not condone his actions nor support the beliefs he held that led to him committing this atrocity," she added.

Interior minister Amber Rudd said on Sunday that technology companies should cooperate more with law enforcement agencies and should stop providing "a secret place for terrorists to communicate" using encrypted messages.

Media have reported that Masood sent an encrypted message moments before the attack.

"There has been much speculation about who Masood was in contact with immediately prior to the attack," Basu said. "All I will say on this point is that Masood’s communications that day are a main line of enquiry."

Reuters

Pictured: Dunnes worker awarded €25k after slipping on gravy at deli counter

Vera Biskupova,with an address at Stepaside, Dublin, but who now lives in Killarney, Co Kerry, pictured leaving the Four Courts after she was awarded €25,234 damages following a Circuit Civil Court action. Pic: Collins Courts

Vera Biskupova,with an address at Stepaside, Dublin, but who now lives in Killarney, Co Kerry, pictured leaving the Four Courts after she was awarded €25,234 damages following a Circuit Civil Court action. Pic: Collins Courts

Saurya Cherfi

March 27 2017 1:42 PM

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• Pictured: Dunnes worker awarded €25k after slipping on gravy at deli counter

  Independent.ie

  A 54-year-old catering assistant, who claimed she has ongoing back pain since she slipped and fell on a gravy spillage two years ago, has been awarded more than €25,000 damages in the Circuit Civil Court against Dunnes Stores.

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A 54-year-old catering assistant, who claimed she has ongoing back pain since she slipped and fell on a gravy spillage two years ago, has been awarded more than €25,000 damages in the Circuit Civil Court against Dunnes Stores.

Vera Biskupova told the court that on January 13, 2015, she had been cleaning the deli counter at Dunnes Stores, Cornelscourt, Bray Road, Foxrock, Dublin, when she suddenly slipped and fell while.

Biskupova, with an address at Strollers Place, Ballyedmonduff Road, Stepaside, Dublin, but who now lives in Killarney, Co Kerry, said she fell heavily on her back and banged her head off the floor.

She told her barrister, Paul Gallagher, that she managed to get up and noticed that her hair, shoulder and back had been wet. She said the large spillage smelled like gravy. She had not seen it on the floor before falling.

Vera Biskupova,with an address at Stepaside, Dublin, but who now lives in Killarney, Co Kerry, pictured leaving the Four Courts after she was awarded €25,234 damages following a Circuit Civil Court action. Pic: Collins Courts

The court heard that she finished her shift that day but had not been able to get out of bed the next day. She had headaches, pain in her head, neck, shoulders and lower back.

Biskupova said she later attended her GP who prescribed her anti-inflammatory medication. She had been out of work for several weeks and had needed to attend physiotherapy sessions.

Mr Gallager, who appeared with Mannion Solicitors, said Ms Biskupova had ongoing intermittent pain in her back. She sued ex-employer Dunnes Stores for negligence, breach of contract and breach of duty.

Biskupova claimed the gravy had leaked from a bin bag. She alleged the bin bags had been unsuitable or unfit for purpose and were likely to allow gravy to leak onto the floor.

She also claimed that Dunnes Stores had failed to have any appropriate system of cleaning and inspection in place to ensure that employees walking in the premises were not put at risk of slipping.

Dunnes had denied all her allegations in a full defence. They claimed that she had been trained “extensively” in relation to health and safety procedures and had not been vigilant that day.

The company alleged that following her accident Biskupova had not mentioned that she had slipped on gravy. They also claimed that she was guilty of contributory negligence.  

Circuit Court President Mr Justice Raymond Groarke said he was satisfied the system of training had been one of a high standard but he believed that Ms Biskupova’s account of what had happened was correct.

“It is quite an interesting feature that the accident report documentation filled in after Ms Biskupova’s incident has no question as to how or why it happened.  That is rather curious,” Judge Groarke said.

“I would expect this question to be in the documentation to make sure that steps are taken so that this type of accident does not occur again,” he said.

Judge Groarke said he could not be blind to the fact that a witness to the accident who was present in court today had not been called by Dunnes Stores to give evidence.

He said the person who spilled the gravy must have been aware of it and decided not to follow the company’s cleaning protocol.

Awarding Biskupova €25, 234 damages, the judge said the place of work had been unsafe. He said she could not be expected to be constantly looking at the floor and he therefore could not find any contributory negligence against her. 

Online Editors

Coalition cannot survive the loss of another Garda Commissioner

Garda Commissioner Noírín O’Sullivan has reiterated that the force’s trust and integrity is on the line, and has called on individual gardaí to step up to the mark with the highest standards Picture: Mark Condren

John Downing Twitter

March 27 2017 2:30 AM

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• Coalition cannot survive the loss of another Garda Commissioner

  Independent.ie

  Last time Taoiseach Enda Kenny began moves which led to the replacement of a Garda Commissioner, it started a chain reaction. It was followed by the loss of a secretary general in the Department of Justice, and later the departure of the Justice Minister, with controversies which still resonate.

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Last time Taoiseach Enda Kenny began moves which led to the replacement of a Garda Commissioner, it started a chain reaction. It was followed by the loss of a secretary general in the Department of Justice, and later the departure of the Justice Minister, with controversies which still resonate.

This time, in any moves concerning the future of Garda Commissioner Nóirín O'Sullivan, the chain reaction could go all the way back to Government Buildings and Mr Kenny's own office. Questions will even be asked about whether this minority hybrid Coalition can survive the loss of Commissioner O'Sullivan.

The Government, especially Mr Kenny and Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald, have continued to express their confidence in Commissioner O'Sullivan. Fianna Fáil, which has been more equivocal in its support up to now, has finally kicked over the traces.

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Tesco worker who injured ankle in forklift accident awarded €66k

Jakub Neuzil from Santry, Dublin, suffered a loss of amenities of life and was out of work for six months as a result of the accident. Photo: PA

Independent.ie Newsdesk Twitter Email

March 1 2017 9:51 PM

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• Tesco worker who injured ankle in forklift accident awarded €66k

  Independent.ie

  A TESCO warehouse operative who injured his right ankle in an accident at work has been awarded over €66,000 by the High Court.

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A TESCO warehouse operative who injured his right ankle in an accident at work has been awarded over €66,000 by the High Court.

Jakub Neuzil from Santry, Dublin, was out of work for six months as a result of the accident and suffered a loss in the quality of life, Ms Justice Bronagh O'Hanlon said.

But the judge, who made a total award of €83,606, found Mr Neuzil 20pc responsible for the accident and reduced the award to €66,884.

Mr Neuzil (31) had sued Tesco Ireland Ltd as a result of the accident at its distribution warehouse at Donabate, Dublin on December 22, 2014.

Ms Justice O'Hanlon said she accepted Mr Neuzil's evidence and he did not exaggerate his circumstances at all.

The judge said Mr Neuzil had described how the accident occurred at the busiest time of the year.

He and a colleague were unloading cages containing goods from a trailer.

Mr Neuzil  was driving a forklift-type vehicle and checking the load behind when he hit another machine. His leg was pulled out and he suffered an injury to this right ankle.

Ms Justice O'Hanlon said the other machine was parked right in the  path of Mr Neuzil and as a matter of pure logic it should have been parked safely in a parking space given the speed  at which the exercise was being conducted.

Tesco, she said, was liable for the actions of the driver who left a vehicle stationary in the path of Mr Neuzil.

However, when driving forward, the judge said Mr Neuzil ought to have been looking forward to a greater degree and as a result she found him 20pc responsible.

Online Editors

Tourist killed in London terror attack 'would not have borne ill feelings towards attacker', family claim

Kurt Cochran, who was killed in the Westminster terrorist attack, and wife Melissa who was also injured Photo: PA Wire

Independent.ie Newsdesk Twitter Email

March 27 2017 3:59 PM

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• Tourist killed in London terror attack 'would not have borne ill feelings towards attacker', family claim

  Independent.ie

  The family of US tourist Kurt Cochran who was killed in last week's assault on the British parliament said on Monday he would not have borne any ill feelings towards the attacker.

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The family of US tourist Kurt Cochran who was killed in last week's assault on the British parliament said on Monday he would not have borne any ill feelings towards the attacker.

Cochran, 54, and his wife, Melissa, were in Europe to celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary when they were mowed down on Westminster Bridge by a car driven by British man, Khalid Masood, who went on to fatally stab an unarmed policeman at the parliament building.

The couple from Utah had been due to return to the United States the day after the attack took place last Wednesday. Melissa remains in hospital where she is recovering from a cut to the head, a broken rib and badly injured leg.

"We know that Kurt wouldn't bear ill feelings towards anyone and we can draw strength as a family from that," Clint Payne, Cochran's brother-in-law, told a __news conference at police headquarters, just yards from where the attack took place.

Angela Still (left) and her mother Sandra Payne (right), sister and mother of Melissa the wife of US tourist Kurt Cochran in the Westminster terrorist attack attends a press conference at New Scotland Yard in London, where they said they had been through a "humbling and difficult experience" Photo: Jonathan Brady/PA Wire

"His whole life was an example of focusing on the positive. Not pretending that negative things don't exist but not living our life in the negative - that's what we choose to do."

Cochran was one of four people killed in the assault, Britain's deadliest attack since the 2005 London underground bombings, and his family said they had since been overwhelmed by the "love of so many people" in London and around the world.

Celebrating their anniversary, the couple had left the U.S. for the first time to visit Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany and parts of Britain before visiting London last week to see the neo-Gothic parliament building on the banks of the River Thames.

The couple, who had a recording studio business, were visiting Melissa Cochran's parents, who are missionaries in London for the Salt Lake City-based Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS), also known as the Mormon church.

"They loved it here and Kurt repeatedly said that he felt like he was at home so thank you for that, thank you for being such good people," Melissa's father Dimmon Payne said.

Shantell Payne, Melissa's sister and one of 13 family members to attend the __news conference, said it was "awful, horrible and gut wrenching" that the attack had been carried out in the name of religion, but that the family would focus on the positive's of Cochran's life.

"We’re thankful in a sense that everyone can know what an amazing person he really was," she said.

Reuters

Search begins for lucky €500k Euromillions winner 22:51Gareth McAuley feared worst two days after Seamus Coleman suffered broken leg 19:01Garda commissioner resisting pressure to quit over fake figures 19:01Polish minister questions legality of Tusk's EU re-election 22:51Gareth McAuley feared worst two days after Seamus Coleman suffered broken leg

Staff members Aine Byrne and Damien Kenny celebrate selling the €500,000-winning Euromillions ticket in O’Reilly’s Londis store in Hackets town last Friday

Deborah Coleman

March 25 2017 12:00 AM

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• Search begins for lucky €500k Euromillions winner

  Independent.ie

  Tongues are wagging on both sides of the Wicklow and Carlow border after a local shop sold a €500,000 winning Euromillions ticket on St Patrick's Day.

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Tongues are wagging on both sides of the Wicklow and Carlow border after a local shop sold a €500,000 winning Euromillions ticket on St Patrick's Day.

Speculation is rife as to the identity of the lucky winner following the purchase of a Quick Pick ticket in O'Reilly Stores, Moffat Street, Hacketstown last Friday.

The winning ticket was picked up on the day of the draw and store owner PJ O'Reilly couldn't believe it when the __news was announced.

However, he is experienced in such things, as sister store O'Reilly Stores in Baltinglass also sold a €500,000 winner last November.

'I got the phonecall at 9.45 a.m. and I thought someone might be calling in sick. I was delighted when it was the Lotto rep to tell me we had sold a winning ticket,' he said.

'We don't know who won it yet, but we hope it is a local. This is the main road through to Arklow, Tinahely, Gorey so it the winner could be from anywhere.'

It's actually the third time lucky for O'Reilly Stores, as the Hacketstown branch also previously sold a €100,000 winning ticket.

An O'Reilly Stores Facebook post for St Patrick's Day was spot on when it encouraged customers to drop in and play Euromillions, as the 'third time lucky' prediction came true.

The timing is perfect for a celebration, as the branch is also approaching its second anniversary in April.

Wicklow People

'I have shed many tears' - Mother of Westminster killer says she is 'deeply shocked, saddened'

The scene of the attack at Westminster last week (Left: Attacker Khalid Masood)

Luck played a part: Extremist Khalid Masood is thought to have been shot by a member of the close protection team of UK defence secretary Michael Fallon, whose car only happened to have been parked in New Palace Yard because a vote was taking place at the time

Attacker: Khalid Masood. Photo: Metropolitan Police/PA Wire

Westminster attacker Khalid Masood receives treatment after being shot during the attack. Photo: Stefan Rousseau/PA Wire

Police leave flowers outside parliament in London in tribute to the victims of Khalid Masood Picture: PA

Emergency services bid to save the life of Khalid Masood after his murderous terror attack was ended by an armed policeman at the Palace of Westminster, London

Police officers conduct a fingertip search at Carriage Gate near to the Houses of Parliament in London. Photo: PA

A young girl lights a candle during a candlelit vigil at Trafalgar Square. Photo: GETTY

Independent.ie Newsdesk Twitter Email

March 27 2017 5:44 PM

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• 'I have shed many tears' - Mother of Westminster killer says she is 'deeply shocked, saddened'

  Independent.ie

  The mother of Westminster terrorist Khalid Masood has said she is "deeply shocked, saddened and numbed" by the actions of her son.

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The mother of Westminster terrorist Khalid Masood has said she is "deeply shocked, saddened and numbed" by the actions of her son.

Janet Ajao said she did not condone the attack or the beliefs which had led Masood to commit the "atrocity".

In a statement released through the Metropolitan Police, she said: "I am so deeply shocked, saddened and numbed by the actions my son has taken that have killed and injured innocent people in Westminster.

"Since discovering that it was my son that was responsible I have shed many tears for the people caught up in this horrendous incident.

Westminster attacker Khalid Masood receives treatment after being shot during the attack. Photo: Stefan Rousseau/PA Wire

"I wish to make it absolutely clear, so there can be no doubt, I do not condone his actions nor support the beliefs he held that led to him committing this atrocity.

"I wish to thank my friends, family and community from the bottom of my heart for the love and support given to us."

Muslim convert Masood killed four people in an 82-second rampage in Westminster on Wednesday.

He was shot dead by armed police after fatally knifing Pc Keith Palmer in the Palace of Westminster's cobbled forecourt.

Emergency services bid to save the life of Khalid Masood after his murderous terror attack was ended by an armed policeman at the Palace of Westminster, London

• Read more: Tourist killed in London terror attack 'would not have borne ill feelings towards attacker', family claim
• Read more: Former security chief says Government is 'using' Westminster attack to grab unnecessary spying powers

Scotland Yard said it had found "no evidence" Masood was linked to Islamic State or al Qaida but said he "clearly" had an interest in jihad.

Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the attack and called Masood "a soldier of the Islamic State".

Attacker: Khalid Masood. Photo: Metropolitan Police/PA Wire

But the announcement was greeted with scepticism by commentators who noted the terror group has a record of opportunistically claiming attacks.

Deputy Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu, the senior national coordinator for UK counter-terrorism policing, said: "His attack method appears to be based on low sophistication, low tech, low cost techniques copied from other attacks, and echo the rhetoric of IS (Islamic State) leaders in terms of methodology and attacking police and civilians, but at this stage I have no evidence he discussed this with others.

"There is no evidence that Masood was radicalised in prison in 2003, as has been suggested; this is pure speculation at this time.

"Whilst I have found no evidence of an association with IS or AQ (al Qaida), there is clearly an interest in jihad."

Press Association