Irish connection of London attacker

One of the attackers who killed seven people and injured 48 near London Bridge on Saturday lived for a time in Ireland, where he married his British wife. Reports that one of the three London attackers lived in the Republic of Ireland for a period feature prominently in Tuesday’s newspapers.

Police named two of the attackers as Khuram Butt (27), a Pakistani-born British citizen, and Rachid Redouane (30), both of whom lived in east London. The third accomplice was named as Moroccan-Italian called Youssef Zaghba, an Italian intelligence source told Irish Times on Tuesday.

A cross-border inquiry is seeking to establish if Redouane, who lived in Rathmines for a time, got married in Ireland for immigration reasons. Police said Redouane claimed to be Moroccan or Libyan. He did not come to the attention of gardai in relation to criminal or terrorist-related activities during his time here, and there is no evidence yet to suggest he was radicalised while living in Ireland.

An investigation in recent years found some men who had been refused immigration status or whose marriage plans had been questioned in Britain sought to marry in Ireland as a “back door” to staying in the European Union. It is understood he married in 2011 or 2012 before leaving for London and that he made an unsuccessful application for asylum in the UK in 2009. Redouane’s wife was among those arrested in London as part of the investigation into Saturday night’s atrocity.