Westminster crash not thought to be terrorism, investigators believe

The crashing of a car into the Houses of Parliament, which prompted a major counterterrorist operation, may not have been an act of terrorism, The Independent has learned.

While the motive of the driver remains unclear, investigators are coming to the view that it is likely to be related to his personal circumstances.

The police have been granted an extension of time, until next Monday, to hold 29-year-old Salih Khater, and more information about what happened may emerge in that time. But senior Whitehall and diplomatic sources say there is no evidence yet that he had been radicalised into Islamist extremism.

Investigations into Sudanese-born Mr Khater’s activities and associates are continuing, and officials point out that while proof of terrorist links may emerge, that is currently looking unlikely. A number of people, however, were injured during the incident and he may face serious charges including that of attempted murder.

Mr Khater’s home in Birmingham is near an address where Khalid Masood, who carried out a car and knife attack in Westminster last year, had lived at one point. But no links have emerged between the two men so far and investigators dismiss suggestions that a “svengali” may have influenced both.

Officials say that even if the crash this week was a copycat strike, it does not necessarily mean that it was a terrorist one.

Within hours of Mr Khater’s Ford Fiesta crashing into barriers outside parliament, Donald Trump had tweeted: “Another terrorist attack in London. These animals are crazy and must be dealt with through toughness and strength.”

However, US diplomatic sources who closely liaise with British security and intelligence services, and Scotland Yard’s counter terrorism unit echo Whitehall officials in saying they have not seen anything to prove this was a terrorist attack.

Masood, a 52-year-old Muslim convert, left a message on WhatsApp declaring his motive for the attack, as The Independent revealed at the time. Sent just before he began his rampage in which five people died and 50 were injured, he said he was waging jihad in revenge against Western military action in the Middle East.

Mr Khater’s telephone as well as those of some of his associates have been examined and, according to Whitehall and diplomatic sources, they are yet to yield anything which shows he had been indoctrinated into extremist ideology. Inquiries continue however into electronic communications.

His overseas background, so far as it has been checked to date, does not show terrorist connections. His family originally came from Darfur, where a vicious conflict had taken place between the Sudanese government and its militias, including the Janjaweed, and rebels including Islamist groups. However, there is nothing to suggest the family took part in the fighting there.

Mr Khater had spent time in Libya before seeking asylum in the UK. That was, however, under the Gaddafi regime and before the revolution and civil war which saw the emergence of Islamist groups in the country.

Friends and neighbours of Mr Khater in Birmingham have expressed disbelief that he could have been responsible for an act of terrorism and have denied that he was involved in radical Islam.

Investigators say this has been taken into account in building up a picture of his personality and background, but it is the lack of any evidence so far which is drawing them towards the conclusion that the Westminster incident was not instigated by politics or religion

Three people were injured in Tuesday’s incident, including a man and woman who required hospital treatment and have subsequently been discharged.

Mr Khater’s friends have claimed the crash may have been an accident.

“He was going to the Sudanese embassy to get a visa to visit his family in Sudan,” one man told The Independent, saying that Mr Khater’s father had died in recent months.

“In my opinion he was going the wrong way and he didn’t know what he was doing, and when he saw the police he got scared. He was under a lot of stress.”

Mr Khater’s brother, Abdullah Khater, said he was a “normal person” with no fanatical ideas or links to extremist groups.

The Sudanese embassy sits in Cleveland Row, less than a 10 minute drive away from where his silver Ford Fiesta hit cyclists and then crashed into security barriers outside the Houses of Parliament.

Police officers had to leap out of the vehicle’s path, after aerial footage showed it appearing to swerve off Parliament Square and cross a central reservation to drive into the security lane.

No other weapons were found in the car, which has been removed from the scene of the crash and searched.

Investigators said it had been driven from Birmingham to London late on Monday night and drove around the city centre for almost eight hours before the incident.

It came during parliament’s summer recess and ahead of the daily rush of tourists to Westminster, leaving the area relatively deserted.

Nassar Mahmood, a trustee at Birmingham Central Mosque, said Mr Khater did not worship there and enquiries suggested he was not a “fervent” Muslim.

“He had his paperwork with him to go to the Sudanese embassy, and we know that the office opens very early in the morning so probably rather than going very early he went overnight,” he added.

“He was very humble in terms of his finances and may not have wanted to pay for a hotel.”

An official at the Sudan embassy told The Independent that it does not offer visa appointments and instead advises applicants to arrive on a first come, first served basis.

“The visa office has been very busy for the past couple of weeks but nobody makes an appointment, they just stand outside and wait for the office to open at 9am,” said the woman, who did not want to be named.

Mr Khater, whose social media indicated a liking for Celine Dion and Rihanna, is believed to have arrived in the UK in 2010 as an asylum seeker. He was granted refugee status and later applied successfully for British citizenship.

He studied English at City College from 2010 to 2011, then a diploma in science at Birmingham’s South and City College from 2014 to 2017, and started an accountancy course at Coventry University but was thrown out in May after failing his first year.

Mr Khater described himself as a shop manager on his Facebook page, which says he studied at Sudan University of Science and Technology and went to school in Wad Madani, a city southeast of Khartoum.

Additional reporting by Lizzie Dearden, Home Affairs Correspondent