Woolwich soldier named as Drummer Lee Rigby

Drummer Lee Rigby, who leaves behind a two-year-old son. Picture: PA

• MI5 had been aware of suspects for eight years but were deemed not to require ‘immediate intervention’

• Four people arrested, including the two men shot by police at the scene of the killing

• Two arrests made after mosques attacked in retaliatory incidents

The 25-year-old, of 2nd Battalion, The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers, leaves behind a two-year-old son.

Drummer Rigby, who was hacked to death in front of shocked onlookers, was described by his family as “a loving son, husband, father, brother and uncle”, while his commanding officers said he was a “true warrior”.

Four people – including two men shot by police after the incident in Woolwich on Wednesday – have been arrested in connection with his murder.

The men who were shot had been known about by the security services for eight years but apparently had been assessed by MI5 as not posing a threat requiring “immediate intervention”.

One of them, believed to be Michael Adebolajo, 28, is thought to have been well-known on the Islamic extremist scene in Britain and to have been either stopped or arrested on his way to join militant Islamist group al-Shabaab in

Somalia in the past year.

He is known to have been a preacher on the streets of Woolwich and is thought to have distributed extremist literature condemning the involvement of British soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Prime Minister David Cameron said parliament’s intelligence and security committee, chaired by Sir Malcolm Rifkind, would examine the role of police and MI5 to see if lessons needed to be learned.

Police, who searched six residential addresses, five in London and one in Lincolnshire, said a man and a woman, both 29, were being questioned at a south London police station on suspicion of conspiracy to murder.

The two men who were shot have been arrested on suspicion of murder. They are in hospital, under armed guard, and said to be in a stable condition, with non-life-threatening injuries.

Yesterday afternoon, two police vans were stationed outside a ground-floor flat in Greenwich, south-east London, with about a dozen officers posted there. The front door had been shattered.

One neighbour said four people had been led away from the flat at 6am, and that two children, aged three and seven, were also taken away.

Another neighbour, Nicola James, 45, said she believed one of the suspects had been in a relationship with one of the two women who lived at the flat. Ms James said she had not seen the other suspect around the housing estate but added: “He was always out in Woolwich, giving out radical leaflets.”

Adebolajo is reported to come from a Nigerian Christian family and is said to have converted to Islam after leaving college in 2001.

Footage was broadcast last night showing him taking part in an Islamist demonstration in April 2007, protesting over the arrest of a man from Luton.

He is seen in a crowd of men outside a police station, standing next to Anjem Choudary, the former leader of al-Muhajiroun, a now-banned organisation.

Mr Choudary said yesterday he knew one of the attackers but that he had not seen him for about two years.

Drummer Rigby, from Manchester, joined the army in 2006 and had served in Afghanistan’s Helmand province, where he was a member of the Fire Support Group in Patrol Base Woqab.

A life-long Manchester United fan, he had stood guard outside the royal palaces as part of his battalion’s duties.

His first posting was as a machine gunner in Cyprus. In April 2009, he was deployed to Afghanistan, before being posted to Germany.

The Second Fusiliers are based in Germany, and are currently training in Cyprus, but he was on attachment to the London headquarters with the Regimental Recruiting Team.

Drummer Rigby’s family issued a statement that said: “Lee was lovely. He would do anything for anybody, he always looked after his sisters and always protected them. He took a ‘big brother’ role with everyone.

“All he wanted to do from when he was a little boy, was be in the army. He wanted to live life and enjoy himself. His family meant everything to him. He was a loving son, husband, father, brother, and uncle, and a friend to many.”

Lieutenant-Colonel Jim Taylor, Commanding Officer Second Fusiliers, described Drummer Rigby as a “real character”. He said: “An experienced and talented side drummer and machine gunner, he was a true warrior and served with distinction in Afghanistan, Germany and Cyprus. His ability, talent and personality made him a natural choice to work in the recruiting group. He will be sorely missed by everyone in the Second Fusiliers.”

At his family home, a council house in Middleton, Rochdale, friends and neighbours paid their respects. “He had always wanted to be in the army since he was knee high”, said one tearful neighbour, who asked not to be named. “He was a lovely lad. He lived around here for years.”

It is believed the men who attacked Drummer Rigby first ran him over and then hacked him to death, yards from a primary school and close to Woolwich Barracks.

Witnesses said one charged towards officers clutching bloodied weapons, including a meat cleaver, while the other brandished a gun. One video clip showed a man with blood-stained hands claiming the killing was committed in the name of Allah and ranting about the government.

Meanwhile, the Metropolitan Police said officers had arrived within nine minutes of the first 999 call and armed officers were there within 14 minutes. It was originally reported that it took up to 20 minutes for them to attend the scene.

Following a meeting of the Cobra emergency response committee on Thursday morning, Prime Minister David Cameron said the attack had “sickened” the country.

“This country will be absolutely resolute in its stand against violent extremism and terror. We will never give in to terror or terrorism in any of its forms”, he said.

US president Barack Obama condemned the attack “in the strongest terms” and said there could be “absolutely no justification for such acts”.

Mr Obama said the US “stands resolute with the United Kingdom, our ally and friend, against violent extremism and terror”.