The families of the Westminster terror attack victims today demanded internet firms do more to prevent further atrocities by tackling the spread of extremist material online.
Grieving relatives added to growing calls for messaging services such as WhatsApp and Telegram to axe end-to-end encryption, which turns messages into a code so that only the sender and receiver can read them.
At a pre-inquest hearing into last March’s attack in Westminster, which left five dead, Gareth Patterson QC, re-presenting victims’ families, urged the coroner to help tackle the problem.
He said encrypted messages between extremists, as well as online radicalisation material, regularly features “in terrorist trial after terrorist trial” at the Old Bailey. “Why is it radicalisation material continues to be freely available on the internet?” he asked.
“We don’t understand why it is necessary for WhatsApp and Telegram to have end-to-end encryption.”
Khalid Masood, 52, knocked down and killed four people and injured dozens when he mounted the pavement on Westminster Bridge and drove at a crowd of pedestrians on March 22.
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He crashed into the gates at the Palace of Westminster before rushing into the grounds and stabbing unarmed Pc Keith Palmer to death. He was shot dead by armed police.
At today’s hearing at the Old Bailey Mr Patterson urged the Chief Coroner, Judge Mark Lucraft QC, to prepare a report on online extremist material as part of his findings, adding that Masood is known to have shared a jihadist document on WhatsApp “without any difficulty”. Judge Lucraft ruled Ma-sood’s inquest will be heard separately to that of his victims out of respect for grieving families. The court also heard the killer took anabolic steroids “in the hours or days prior to his death”, according to a toxicology report.
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Inquests into the deaths of Kurt Cochran, 54, Leslie Rhodes, 75, Aysha Frade, 44, Andreea Cristea, 31, and Pc Palmer, 48, will be heard from September 10. Jonathan Hough QC, counsel to the inquest, said Masood’s inquest could take place immediately after.
Opening today’s procedural hearing, Judge Lucraft said: “Lives of many were torn apart by less than two minutes of high and terrible drama. I offer my sincere condolences to the families of those who lost loved ones.”