London attack: Dead terrorist named as UK-born Khalid Masood

UK police have named the man responsible for the terrorist attack in Westminster on Wednesday as British-born Khalid Masood.

Masood, aged 52, was born in Kent and detectives believe he was most recently living in the West Midlands. He was also known by a number of aliases, police said.

"Masood was not the subject of any current investigations and there was no prior intelligence about his intent to mount a terrorist attack," the Met said in a statement.

"However, he was known to police and has a range of previous convictions for assaults, including GBH, possession of offensive weapons and public order offences. His first conviction was in November 1983 for criminal damage and his last conviction was in December 2003 for possession of a knife."

"He has not been convicted for any terrorism offences."

Earlier on Thursday, Prime Minister Theresa May said Masood, who was shot dead by armed police inside the Palace of Westminster, had been known to MI5, the domestic security service, but had been a "peripheral figure".

Eight people have been arrested and six addresses raided in connection with the attack. May added that the injured included 12 Britons, three French, two Romanians, four South Koreans, one German, one Chinese, one Irish, one Italian, one American and two Greeks.

"It is still believed this attacker acted alone and police have no reason to believe there are imminent further attacks on the public," she said in a statement to the House of Commons.

"What I can confirm is the man was British born and that some years ago he was once investigated by MI5 in relation to concerns about violent extremism. He was a peripheral figure. The case is historic. He is not part of the current intelligence picture. There was no prior intelligence of his intent or the plot."

"Our working assumption is that the attacker was inspired by Islamist ideology."

Metropolitan Police Deputy Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley said earlier raids had taken place in London, Birmingham and elsewhere in the country.

Speaking outside Scotland Yard, Rowley said 29 people injured in the attack have been treated in hospital and seven were still in a critical condition. The dead victims from the bridge were named as as Aysha Frade, 43, a teacher and mother of two and US tourist Kurt Cochran, from Utah, visiting the capital with his wife Melissa, who is in hospital with serious injuries.

A statement from the family said the couple had been celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary and were due to return to the US on Thursday.

Police searched six addresses in Birmingham, London and other parts of the country. They believe this attacker “acted alone and inspired by international terrorism”, Rowley said.

"It is still our belief, and this is borne out by our investigations, that this attacker acted alone and was inspired by international terrorism," he said.

The attack started on Westminster Bridge when the Masood mounted the pavement and rammed into pedestrians on before crashing into the outer fence near the landmark Big Ben clock tower and running through the main gates into the houses of parliament.

He then stabbed a police officer after being challenged before he was shot dead. The policeman, who later died of his injuries, was named as 48-year-old Keith Palmer.

Masood rented the car from hire firm Enterprise in the Birmingham area.

A spokesperson for Enterprise Holdings said: “We can confirm that the car used in the tragic attack in London yesterday afternoon was one of ours."

"An employee identified the vehicle after seeing the licence plate in an image online. We ran another check to verify, and immediately contacted the authorities."

Westminster Bridge had been re-opened to traffic, Transport for London said, as were Victoria Embankment and Northumberland Avenue westbound from Upper Thames Street . The Mall and Constitution Hill were are also now open.