Barriers put up after 2017 London Bridge terror attacks

Security measures around Westminster and at locations including London Bridge were beefed up in the wake of the 2017 attacks – where today armed police shot dead a man after a terror-related knife rampage.

Barriers were put up within days of a terror incident at London Bridge and Borough Market in June 2017. Khuram Butt, 27, Rachid Redouane, 30, and Youssef Zaghba, 22, killed eight people and injured 48 others in the van and knife attack. 

Months earlier, in March 2017, Khalid Masood, 52, ploughed a car into crowds on Westminster Bridge killing five and injuring 50, in the first of five terrorist attacks on Britain in 2017.

Westminster, and other central London bridges, were seen as a soft target. After the attacks concern was raised over a lack of protection for pedestrians who were labelled ‘sitting ducks’ in the wake of the incidents.

Bollards and barriers were put up on the bridge in the wake of the 2017 terror attacks. After the attacks concern was raised over a lack of protection for pedestrians who were labelled ‘sitting ducks’ in the wake of the incident

City of London Police only took action to protect the public 'after the horse had bolted' by erecting the barriers (pictured here on London Bridge just days after the terror attack) on eight bridges in six days, the hearing was told

City of London Police only took action to protect the public ‘after the horse had bolted’ by erecting the barriers (pictured here on London Bridge just days after the terror attack) on eight bridges in six days, the hearing was told

The van used in the London Bridge attack in June 2017 to mow down pedestrians before crashing into railings outside the Barrowboy and Banker pub

The van used in the London Bridge attack in June 2017 to mow down pedestrians before crashing into railings outside the Barrowboy and Banker pub

This map shows the route the terrorists took as they murdered eight people in central London during the 2017 London Bridge terror attack

This map shows the route the terrorists took as they murdered eight people in central London during the 2017 London Bridge terror attack

In the aftermath, tactics for armed officers were changed, with marksmen allowed to shoot at a vehicle used in such an attack. The number of armed patrols around the capital also increased. 

Bollards and security barriers were put up on bridges including Westminster, Waterloo and Lambeth in a bid to stop terrorists mowing down pedestrians.  

During the June 2017 attack, Butt, Redouane, and Zaghba used a van to deliberately drive into pedestrians on London Bridge before crashing on the south bank of the River Thames.

The three men then ran to the nearby Borough Market area and began stabbing people in and around restaurants and pubs. They were shot dead by City of London Police officers and were found to be wearing fake explosive vests.

A few months earlier, in March 2017, Masood ploughed a car into crowds on Westminster Bridge. Masood abandoned his car then stabbed and killed unarmed PC Keith Palmer before he was shot by armed police in a courtyard outside Parliament. 

Masood’s rampage left five people dead – 48-year-old PC Palmer, who was on duty at the Palace of Westminster, along with US tourist Kurt Cochran, Romanian tourist Andreea Cristea, 31, and Britons Aysha Frade, 44, and 75-year-old Leslie Rhodes, who were mown down on the bridge. 

Concern had been raised over the possibility of attacks on Central London bridges, with a  police constable warning his bosses to install barriers on London Bridge weeks before eight people were murdered, an inquest into the terror attacks heard in June.

Terrorist Khuram Butt after he was shot by police in Borough Market in 2017. Butt and his fellow attacker strapped empty canisters to their waists to look like explosive devices

Terrorist Khuram Butt after he was shot by police in Borough Market in 2017. Butt and his fellow attacker strapped empty canisters to their waists to look like explosive devices 

Rachid Redouane (left) and Youssef Zaghba (right) killed eight in the terror attack on London Bridge in 2017

Rachid Redouane (left) and Youssef Zaghba (right) killed eight in the terror attack on London Bridge in 2017

In the wake of the attacks security barriers and bollards were put on London Bridge to prevent a vehicle mounting the pavement

In the wake of the attacks security barriers and bollards were put on London Bridge to prevent a vehicle mounting the pavement

In March 2017, Khalid Masood, 52, ploughed a car into crowds on Westminster Bridge killing five and injuring 50, in the first of five terrorist attacks on Britain in 2017

In March 2017, Khalid Masood, 52, ploughed a car into crowds on Westminster Bridge killing five and injuring 50, in the first of five terrorist attacks on Britain in 2017

Khalid Masood, 52, (pictured) ploughed a car into crowds on the bridge in London in March 2017, in the first of five terrorist attacks on Britain last year

Masood (pictured) abandoned his car then stabbed and killed unarmed PC Keith Palmer before he was shot by armed police in a courtyard outside Parliament

Khalid Masood, 52, (left) ploughed a car into crowds on the bridge in London in March 2017, in the first of five terrorist attacks on Britain last year. Masood (right) abandoned his car then stabbed and killed unarmed PC Keith Palmer before he was shot by armed police in a courtyard outside Parliament

City of London Police only took action to protect the public ‘after the horse had bolted’ by erecting the barriers on eight bridges in six days after the London Bridge 2017 terror attack, the hearing was told.

Members of the public also contacted the authorities that owned London Bridge expressing their worries that the walkway was a ‘prime target’ after the Westminster attack. 

The inquest also heard how London Bridge was considered a ‘viable and attractive target’ for an attack using a vehicle as a weapon in a report submitted in the weeks before the terrorist attack that killed eight people. 

The report, by a private sector company for the City of London Police noted that the ‘location and layout’ of the bridge ‘lends itself to a ramming attack, with no physical barriers to prevent a vehicle mounting the pavement.

Security barriers and bollards were put in place on London Bridge in the wake of the 2017 terror attacks. They are pictured on London Bridge today after a man was shot by police following reports of a person brandishing a knife

Security barriers and bollards were put in place on London Bridge in the wake of the 2017 terror attacks. They are pictured on London Bridge today after a man was shot by police following reports of a person brandishing a knife

Police on Cannon Street in London near the scene of the incident on London Bridge in the capital today. The incident on London Bridge comes weeks after the UK’s terrorism threat level was downgraded

Police on Cannon Street in London near the scene of the incident on London Bridge in the capital today. The incident on London Bridge comes weeks after the UK’s terrorism threat level was downgraded

Police and emergency services at the scene of the incident on London Bridge this afternoon. Police said they are treating the stabbing, in which a man was shot by police, “as though it is terror-related”

Police and emergency services at the scene of the incident on London Bridge this afternoon. Police said they are treating the stabbing, in which a man was shot by police, ‘as though it is terror-related’

Two years after security measures were put in place, an incident took place on London Bridge today in which a man was shot by police (pictured, the location of the shooting)

Two years after security measures were put in place, an incident took place on London Bridge today in which a man was shot by police (pictured, the location of the shooting) 

It suggested that a vehicle might crash almost exactly where it did on June 3 2017 and that the attackers might attack bystanders with a ‘bladed weapon’, just as they did.

A senior police officer revealed that they did not consider the attack on Westminster Bridge, three months earlier, as an attack on a bridge, even though four of the five victims had died there. The fifth, PC Keith Palmer was stabbed to death at the Palace of Westminster.  

Today, with the security measures in place, a man has been shot dead by police near London Bridge in an incident which is being responded to ‘as though it is terror-related’, the Metropolitan Police said.

Footage on social media appeared to show armed officers surround a person on the ground before discharging a weapon, while a bystander appears to remove a large knife from the scene.

The incident on London Bridge comes weeks after the UK’s terrorism threat level was downgraded. 

Read more at DailyMail.co.uk