London terror attack van was hired in Romford, police reveal

Police are asking for help in figuring out where this knife was purchased.

London, The terrorists involved in the London Bridge attack that killed eight, had tried to hire a seven-and-a-half tonne lorry to carry out the brutality, police said.

The men then drove into pedestrians on the bridge before stabbing people at the nearby Borough Market on the night of June 3.

Butt, a 27-year-old Pakistan-born British citizen, and his two accomplices, Rachid Redouane, 30, who claimed to be Moroccan-Libyan, and Youssef Zaghba, a 22-year-old Italian national of Moroccan descent, were shot dead by armed police eight minutes after the first emergency call.

The attempted truck hire failed because Butt failed to provide payment details.

The van used to kill three people during last week's terror attacks in London was hired in Romford, the Metropolitan Police have said.

Large trucks have been used in other ramming attacks in Europe and have caused higher numbers of casualties. The intended truck was smaller but similar to the one used in the Nice attack a year ago that killed 86 people and injured hundreds in the resort town in the south of France. In Berlin, Anis Amri rammed into a Christmas market, killing 12.

Police believe Butt was driving the van.

Metropolitan Police Commissioner Dick said she understood that people were concerned about security after attacks in London and Manchester but that the British capital was a safe city that would not be intimidated.

Also in the United Kingdom two men, aged 24 and 29, from Huddersfield, remain in custody after being arrested in Sheffield and Huddersfield, on suspicion of offences under Section 5 of the Terrorism Act. That drive was initiated two years previously.

The investigation has concluded that 27-year-old Butt was the ringleader. The Ernesto brand knives are 12 inches long, and were found with tape wrapped around the handles and leather straps attached to them to keep the weapons on the attackers' wrists. "We don't know - I can only surmise".

"Where have they come from?"

Asked if the vests were used by the attackers to ensure they were shot dead, he said: "It's possible, we don't know". Two blow torches were also found.

They found a number of office chairs and a suitcase, and believe that the attackers had told family they were using the van to move as a cover story.

Police have conducted a series of raids in connection with the attacks and made 18 arrests. It also emerged that multiple petrol bombs were found in the van used, while a copy of the Koran opened at a page "describing martyrdom" was discovered in the east London bolthole where the men plotted the attack.

Police have arrested 19 people in connection with the attack.

One man arrested on suspicion of drugs and firearms offences was bailed until a date in late June.