Who was Khalid Masood? Westminster terrorist who drove at pedestrians in London attack and murdered PC Keith Palmer

THE man behind the horrific terror attack at Westminster was identified soon after the incident by police as Khalid Masood.

Here is the story of the Kent-born 52-year-old who killed five people and wounded 50 more on March 22, 2017.

Who was Khalid Masood and what's his background?

Knife-weilding terrorist Khalid Masood was a married dad-of-three and a former English teacher who had been living with his family in Birmingham.

The 52-year-old murdered a police officer and five pedestrians before he was shot by cops and rushed to St Mary’s Hospital, Paddington.

An inquest into his victims' death began on Monday September 9.

By chance, at the very moment Masood was wheeled into Accident and Emergency on a stretcher flanked by armed police, the BBC were filming their fly-on-the-wall series Hospital. The footage was aired on June 20, 2017.

Masood was born on Christmas Day as Adrian Russell Elms.

His mother Janet Elms, in 1964, changed his name to Ajao when she married his step-dad Phillip and they moved to Tunbridge Wells in Kent - where he grew up with his two half brothers and attended church.

Masood reportedly converted to Islam later in life and had a string of aliases.

He was so hooked on scratchcards he continued to blow a fortune on them, an ex-flatmate in Birmingham revealed.

It has also been claimed he was struggling to pay off two payday loans.

Who are his daughters Teegan and Andi Harvey?

Masood had two daughters with his ex-partner Jane Harvey, who he met while working at Aaron Chemicals in East Sussex in the late 1980s.

In 1992, they celebrated the arrival of their first daughter, Andi Jay, now 24, before Teegan ­Adrienne followed six years later.

A friend told The Sun how Jane and Masood had waged war over his bid to ­convert Teegan, 18, to Islam two years ago.

But his younger daughter defied his wishes and reportedly refused to convert.

Did Khalid Masood have any previous convictions?

Scotland Yard said Masood was a violent criminal convicted of multiple offences spanning 20 years.

His offences included assaults, grievous bodily harm, possession of offensive weapons and public order offences.

He had not been convicted for any terrorism offences, according to Home Secretary Amber Rudd.

His first conviction was in November 1983 for criminal damage and his last conviction was in December 2003 for possession of a knife.

The Metropolitan Police said Masood was not the subject of any current investigations and there was no prior intelligence about his intent to mount a terrorist attack.

Did Khalid Masood have links to ISIS?

ISIS claimed it was behind the attack when it issued its statement through its Amaq news agency the following day.

Their statement said: "The perpetrator of the attacks yesterday in front of the British parliament in London is an Islamic State soldier and he carried out the operation in response to calls to target citizens of the coalition".

But there is currently no evidence ISIS orchestrated the terror plot.

The terror group has a track record of claiming responsibility for atrocities in the world, regardless of whether they are actually connected to them.

What happened during the Westminster attack?

Armed cops put Westminster on lockdown after an attack brought London to a standstill on March 22.

The attacker identified as Masood, armed with two large knives, mowed down pedestrians with a rented car on Westminster Bridge.

He then crashed into a gate outside Houses of Parliament before fatally stabbing a police officer.

The knifeman was shot dead moments later by Defence Secretary Michael Fallon’s security guard.

The policeman who died was named as PC Keith Palmer, aged 48.

MP Tobias Ellwood attempted to revive PC Palmer but the husband and father could not be saved.

Six people died including the attacker and more than 50 were hurt in the attack - two who were left in a critical condition and one who had life-changing injuries.

MPs were locked in the House of Commons for five hours after the attack.

Jurors at the Westminster inquest at the Old Bailey today took just two hours and 22 minutes to find he was lawfully killed on October 12, 2018

They concluded he was intent on inflicting "serious harm" when he stormed through the gates to the Palace of Westminster.

He had been issued with verbal warnings but "continued to move toward the close protection officers at speed" before he was shot, the jury said.

It also emerged that Sir Craig Mackey, Deputy Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, locked himself in a car during the attack and didn't rush to help PC Palmer.

He told the Old Bailey his “instinct” was to get out of the car, but he remained locked inside as he was unarmed, had no police radio or protective equipment, and was accompanied by two civilian police staff who had no formal officer training.