26 May 2013

Woolwich suspect was arrested in Kenya

One of the Woolwich murder suspects, Michael Adebolajo, was arrested in Kenya in 2010, the Foreign Office confirms, as the Home Secretary warns “potentially” thousands are at risk of radicalisation.

The two men suspected of murdering Drummer Lee Rigby, Michael Adebolajo, 28, and Michael Oluwatobi Adebowale, 22, remain in a stable condition in hospital after being shot by police when they charged towards armed officers in Woolwich on Wednesday.

The Foreign Office confirmed today that a British National was arrested in Kenya in 2010 and was given consular assistance, as is normal for British nationals. Adebolajo was arrested with five others near the Somali border and was later deported.

A man claiming to be a childhood friend of Adebolajo claimed on Friday that he had undergone a “change” following his detention by security forces in Kenya.

The Kenyan government cannot be held responsible for what happened to him after we handed him to British authorities. Kenyan government spokesman

Kenya’s government spokesman said Adebolajo was arrested under a different name and taken to court before being handed to British authorities.

“Kenya’s government arrested Michael Olemindis Ndemolajo. We handed him to British security agents in Kenya and he seems to have found his way to London and mutated to Michael Adebolajo,” said spokesman Muthui Kariuki.

“The Kenyan government cannot be held responsible for what happened to him after we handed him to British authorities.”

The suspect’s presence in Kenya is now a focus for investigations. A long running war in neighbouring Somalia has claimed thousands of lives and has been a magnet for many British based Islamists. Many join Al-Shabab – the Al-Qaeda ally fighting Somalia’s western-backed government.

Deputy Assistant Commissioner Stuart Osborne, Senior National Co-ordinator Counter Terrorism and head of the Metropolitan Police Service Counter Terrorism Command said the two suspects would be formally interviewed “when it is possible to do so”.

Radicalism risk

In the meantime, he said police are pursuing CCTV footage, social media, forensic and intelligence leads.

He said: “We have been undertaknig a complicated and often rapidly developing round the clock investigation since the horrific murder of fusilier Lee Rigby in Woolich on Wednesday afternoon.

The home secretary Theresa May said around 500 police officers are working on the murder of soldier Lee Rigby, who was killed on Wednesday.

She said “all the indications” pointed to a lone wolf style incident, rather than a wider operation.

However, when asked if there were thousands of people at risk of radicalisation in the UK, she replied “potentially”.

She also told BBC One’s Andrew Marr Show that those at risk were at “different points on what could be a path to violent extremism”.

Crack down

Downing Street today confirmed the launch of a new terror task force to crack down on extremism.

The group, comprised of cabinet ministers and top police and security service officials, will focus on radical preachers who seek out potential recruits in prisons, schools, colleges and mosques.

Read more: anti-Muslim backlash soars in wake of Woolwich murder

The prime minister has also announced that the parliamentary Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) will carry out an investigation following the disclosure that the two men suspected of murdering Drummer Rigby were known to MI5.

Authorities in France are also investigating whether the murder of Drummer Rigby was linked to an attack on a French soldier, who was stabbed in the neck in a busy shopping area near Paris on Saturday.

Police raids

On Sunday, Police arrested a 22-year-old man in Highbury Grove, north London, on suspicion of conspiracy to murder Lee Rigby.

Three men who were arrested on Saturday who remain in custody today. Two men, aged 24 and 28, were detained at an address in south-east London, while a 21-year-old man was arrested in the street in Charlton Lane, Greenwich, all on suspicion of conspiracy to commit murder.

Deputy Assistant Commissioner Stuart Osborne said today the investigation was “progressing well”, but he admitted there is “still a lot more work to do”.

He said: “The public have been very supportive in relation to our appeals for help. I now ask that anyone who knew the two men who carried out this attack to consider if they have any information which may be useful to contact us in the strictest of confidence.”

A 29-year-old man arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to murder has now been released on bail, police said on Saturday night.

Two women aged 29 and 31 have been released without charge after they were held on Thursday on suspicion of conspiracy to murder, and a number of other people not directly involved with the attack have been charged over malicious comments made on social networking sites.

Anti-Terrorist Hotline 0800 789 321