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Mum Of London Terror Attacker 'Can't Believe' Authorities Weren't Watching Her Son

Mum Of London Terror Attacker 'Can't Believe' Authorities Weren't Watching Her Son

She blamed the Internet for her son's radicalisation.

Claire Reid

Claire Reid

The mum of one of the men responsible for the London terror attack says she can't believe her son wasn't being watched by UK police.

Youssef Zaghba's mum Valeria Khadija Collina, who lives in Italy, told the Mirror how Italian authorities kept tabs on him all the time, even going so far as meeting him off a plane and driving him home so they knew where he was.

She went on to say she was 'amazed' British authorities didn't do the same, despite being told about her son's extremist views.

She said: "The Italian police were following him around everywhere, but in Britain, nothing, I cannot understand why. I believe they failed to monitor him like they should have done.

Valeria Khadija Collina speaking to journalists at her home in Italy. Credit: PA

"When he came to Italy to visit the Italian police would be waiting at the steps of the plane. They would have a chat with him and even bring him back to the house to see what he was up to.

"Youssef never mentioned anything like that in England and it's obviously up to them what they do, but I never heard anything about the English procedure monitoring him."

She also told the paper he had been question by British police in January this year when he was prevented from re-entering the country after visiting his mum.

Italian authorities said Zaghba was reported to MI6 last year after he told Italian cops: "I'm going to be a terrorist."

Giuseppe Amato, the head prosecutor in Bologna, told the Mirror: "Bologna DIGOS anti-terrorism police informed British intelligence about Zaghba initially in March 2016, and informed them that he was coming to London.

"According to our investigation, he initially said he was a terrorist and then changed his mind and said he was a tourist.

"On his phone were the usual images that are used to evoke sympathies in this religious phenomenon - beheadings and so on. It was all open source material. There weren't pictures showing him as the protagonist in any violence.

"There wasn't evidence to charge him with any crime. But we decided he was a person who was worth monitoring and merited scrutiny."

Tributes left in London. Credit: PA

Valeria blamed the Internet for her son's radicalisation, describing him as a well-behaved teen who turned moody and became obsessed with going to live with ISIS.

She said: "I blame the internet for his radicalisation.

"It all started in Morocco and with videos he was watching and then on the internet in London.

"He wanted to go to Syria because he thought it was a place where you could live a pure form of Islam - he wanted to go there to raise a family and to work."

She went on to say she didn't like the company he kept in London, saying he looked 'unhappy'.

Valeria said she believed the Imams who have refused to pray for Zaghba were right, adding: "I am disgusted by what he did and I would not want to bury him either because it sends the right signal to others who believe what he was doing was right."

When asked if she would coming over to the UK for the burial, she said: "I don't want to see my son like that."

Featured Image Credit: PA