THE man being held over the London terror attack was known to the police and had been investigated by M15 for “violent extremism”.

The details were given by Prime Minister Theresa May as the two pedestrians killed on Westminster Bridge were named by the police and inquiries continued into Wednesday’s events.

US tourist Kurt Cochran, 54, and Aysha Frade, 43, died when a car ploughed into people walking along a busy pavement before it crashed into the railings surrounding the Parliamentary estate.

Police Constable Keith Palmer who was guarding the building was fatally stabbed and assailant Khalid Masood shot dead.

Late last night police confirmed that a 75-year-old man had died in hospital.

Scotland Yard said they had no prior intelligence that 52-year-old Masood was intending “to mount a terrorist attack” but revealed he was known to police and had a range of previous convictions for assaults, including GBH, possession of offensive weapons and public order offences. He was not subject to any current investigations.

In a statement the family of PC Palmer, 48, said he was “dedicated to his job and proud to be a police officer, brave and courageous” and described him as a “wonderful dad and husband, a loving son, brother and uncle” who will be “deeply missed”.

They added that he was a “long-time supporter of Charlton FC”, and a “friend to everyone who knew him”.

Earlier yesterday as parliamentary business resumed after Wednesday’s lockdown May disclosed that Masood was British-born and known to police and MI5. It is thought he was born in Kent and had most recently lived in Birmingham.

May told MPs Masood was once investigated in relation to concerns about violent extremism some years ago but was a “peripheral figure”.

She said the case was “historic” and the attacker was “not part of the current intelligence picture”.

As police and intelligence agencies mounted a massive investigation to piece together the killer’s movements in the lead-up to the attack:

  • Anti-terror officers arrested eight people, and several addresses were raided overnight in London and Birmingham
  • Police activity was reported in a several other areas of the country
  • Car firm Enterprise confirmed the Hyundai used in the attack was one of its vehicles
  • Daesh claimed the killer was one of its “soldiers”
  • A review of security arrangements at Westminster was launched
  • Tributes were paid to the victims of the atrocity.

The Prime Minister addressed MPs as they gathered at the usual time inside the Palace of Westminster. An hour after MPs had stood for a minute’s silence in honour of the innocent people killed in the attack, May delivered a statement with details of the atrocity.

She said: “What I can confirm is that 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 was not part of the current intelligence picture. There was no prior intelligence of his intent or of the plot.”

In a defiant message to a packed House of Commons, May said: “We will never waver in the face of terrorism.”

Paying tribute to Palmer, she said: “He was every inch a hero and his actions will never be forgotten.”

Details of the two other victims emerged. Cochran was a tourist from Utah celebrating his wedding anniversary, while Frade was a “highly regarded and loved” staff member of a local college.

Cochran and his wife, Melissa – on the last day of a trip celebrating their 25th anniversary – were visiting her parents, who are serving as Mormon missionaries in London. Frade, who worked at independent sixth-form school DLD College London, in Westminster, is understood to have been married with two daughters.

Meanwhile, Daesh made its first public pronouncement since the atrocity, claiming in a statement: “The attacker yesterday in front of the British Parliament in London was a soldier of the Islamic State executing the operation in response to calls to target citizens of coalition nations.”

Commentators said the terror group has a record of opportunistically claiming attacks and said it was significant that the statement did not appear to claim it had directed the strike.

A minute’s silence was held nationwide at 9.33am for the innocent people who were killed.

Forty other people were injured, with 29 treated in hospital. The casualties included 12 Britons, three French children, two Romanians, four South Koreans, two Greeks, and one each from Germany, Poland, Ireland, China, Italy and the US. Three police officers were also hurt, two of them seriously. Masood’s first conviction was in 1983 for criminal damage and his last was in December 2003 for possession of a knife.