Streatham terror attack: Two police officers under investigation for ‘dangerous driving and misconduct’

Unmarked vehicle in crash with two others, says watchdog

Police examine the scene of the attack (File photo) (PA)

Two police officers are being investigated over alleged dangerous driving while responding to the Streatham terror attack.

One of the men was driving an unmarked police car towards the incident when it was involved in a crash with two other vehicles, injuring him and another person.

The other man was driving a marked armed response vehicle nearby and carried on to the scene of the attack in south London on 2 February.

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) said both officers had been served notices of investigation for dangerous driving and gross misconduct.

The watchdog said the second car was “in close proximity to the unmarked vehicle but not involved in the collision”.

The Metropolitan Police Federation, which represents rank-and-file officers, called the investigation a "complete joke".

"These officers and their colleagues put their lives on the line that day to protect the public," said chairman Ken Marsh. "Now potentially their careers are on the line. It’s absurd.

"The the last thing officers responding to a terrorist attack should be worrying about is whether their prompt response and bravery will put their livelihoods in danger."

The IOPC is separately investigating the circumstances around the fatal shooting of attacker Sudesh Amman, who was being monitored by security services following his released from prison.

The watchdog previously revealed that police bullets went through the windows of a supermarket and a pharmacy after officers opened fire, causing one woman to be injured by flying glass.

Amman, a 20-year-old Isis supporter, was being followed by undercover police on foot when he grabbed a knife from inside a shop and started attacking people.

Two victims, a man and a woman, were stabbed before Amman was shot dead. Both survived.

The IOPC said no individual officers were under investigation in relation to the shooting, but said it would assess the “actions and decisions, including the use of lethal force” of those involved.

It will examine what information police had and the action they took following Amman’s release from prison on 23 January, where he had been serving a sentence for terror offences.

IOPC director for London Sal Naseem said: “It is important that we establish what information the police had and how they responded to it in the days after Amman’s release and prior to his death.”

The Metropolitan Police commissioner previously defended the undercover officers who were following Amman when he launched his attack.

When questioned on whether it could have been prevented, Dame Cressida Dick said covert surveillance did not equate to “man-to-man marking”.

“It is inevitable that there could be a time delay before somebody totally unexpectedly does something,” she added.

“I wish I could assure the public that everybody who poses a risk on the streets could be subject to some sort of thing that would stop them being able to stab anybody ever, but it is clearly not possible.”

Amman had grabbed the knife from inside a shop, but was already wearing a fake suicide vest in apparent preparation for an attack.

Scotland Yard previously said the device “had been concealed under his clothes”, suggesting the officers did not see it until after he started stabbing people.

Police said Amman was inside the shop for less than a minute, and that he was shot dead within 60 seconds of starting the attack.

The attack came little after a week from when he was automatically released from prison, halfway through a sentence for collecting and distributing material useful for terror attacks.

Amman had originally been arrested on suspicion of planning an attack in May 2018, after writing that he was “armed and ready” online, declaring support for Isis and encouraging his girlfriend to behead her non-Muslim parents.

But he was charged with lesser offences on advice from the Crown Prosecution Service and received a sentence of three years and four months.

The Streatham stabbing was the third terror attack in little over two months to be committed by a convicted terrorism offender, following the incidents at Fishmongers’ Hall and inside HMP Whitemoor.

It caused the government to bring in emergency legislation to stop the automatic release of terror offenders and ensure they are assessed by the Parole Board, amid fears over radicalisation and extremist networking inside prisons.