Chilling words spoken by third London Bridge attacker Youssef Zaghba who spooks failed to stop twice
Italian authorities found beheading videos and photos of an ISIS flag on his phone and alerted British authorities but he was never arrested
BRITISH security services missed two chances to stop London Bridge terrorist Youssef Zaghba after cops ignored warnings and waved him into the UK.
Italian officials said they had reported Zaghba — the third attacker named by police — to MI6 last year after he told local cops who stopped him: “I’m going to be a terrorist.”
It happened as Zaghba, 22, was held at Bologna airport in Italy in March 2016 after police spotted he was on a one-way ticket to Turkey from the UK with no bags or cash.
And Italian security sources confirmed officials at Stansted Airport checked his name against a European criminal database when he landed back in the UK from Bologna in January.
The Schengen Information System lets European countries issue alerts about potential criminals passing through their borders.
It holds details on thousands of persons of interest, including suspected jihadists, and was consulted more than half a billion times by UK cops and spooks in 2016.
An Italian source said: “Details of Zaghba’s detention in Bologna in March 2016 were inserted into the Schengen Information System.
“This was consulted by British authorities when Zaghba landed in Stansted in January on a flight back to the UK from Bologna.”
When he was stopped in Italy, beheading videos and photos of an IS flag were found on his phone.
But Italian-Moroccan Zaghba — who lived in London for more than a year before Sunday’s atrocity — was not arrested.
His mum’s house outside Bologna was searched and his computer seized but a tribunal killed the probe because there was no evidence he had been to Syria.
Bologna prosecutor Giuseppe Amato said: “We alerted the authorities in Britain that he was a possible person of interest.”
Spokesman Maurilio Matrascia added: “Zaghba was stopped at the airport and gave an extraordinary statement to the police.
“He had already caught their eye as he had a one-way ticket to Istanbul, barely any luggage and no money. Security services were informed and a search was made of his phone.
“The images were thought to be of sufficient concern to obtain a warrant to search his mother’s home and his computer was seized.”
UK authorities played down claims pizza delivery driver Zaghba had then been placed on an official watch list like fellow plotter Khuram Butt.
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But security sources insisted the incident had been passed to MI6.
It leaves British intelligence agencies facing tough questions about how the London Bridge cell slipped under the radar.
Zaghba was born in Morocco to dad Mohammed and Italian mum Valeria Collina, 68, in 1995.
The couple later split, with Valeria moving back to Italy.
Zaghba qualified for an Italian passport, giving him freedom of movement across the EU.
His mum Valeria told an Italian magazine: “He called me last Thursday.
“I realise now it was a telephone call to say goodbye. I could just tell from his voice.’’
Valeria revealed she had been due to visit him later this month.
She said: “We had a joke about how he would come and pick me up from the airport.
“When I tried to call the next day there was no answer.
“So I asked a friend in London to go and check for me but they couldn’t find him either.
“I thought of him when I realised his friends had been identified as the terrorists but I thought he was hiding because he didn’t want to get into trouble.”
On his attempt to reach Syria last year she said: “He told me he was going to Rome for three days. I took him to Bologna and a few hours later he called me from the airport telling me everything.
“He had shown me some videos of Syria but he never talked to me about going to fight there.
“He said that Syria was the place to live a pure Islam.
“I kept telling him they were horrible things and he shouldn’t watch them..
“When children make a mistake, the parents always blame themselves. I tried my best but I think he was changed by others.
“Things started going wrong in London. I never liked where he ended up living. He mixed with the wrong people.”
Pals told how Zaghba had moved to Dagenham, East London, in September last year, living in a squalid bedsit.
The grim flats at the house off the A13 had been known as the Little Yellow House by locals.
It featured on sex forums and was a popular haunt for swingers.
Friends say his life was dominated by religion, worshipping at a mosque in nearby East Ham.
One pal revealed how the jihadist had told him his family had struggled while he was growing up.
The friend said: “Youssef moved into one of the rooms and stayed for three weeks.
“He said he had arrived from Italy but spoke good English.
“He was working as a pizza delivery guy with a bike but also claimed to be studying engineering.
“He said he wanted to become a successful businessman so he could send money back to his mum.
“It comes as a shock that he has got involved in something like this.”
Neighbours said they had seen Zaghba and Butt — now thought to be the cell’s ringleader — meeting hours before the attacks.
One man said he had seen the pair outside Butt’s home in Barking, East London.
The friend said: “They could have been planning the attack because the look I was given by Butt was evil.
It didn’t feel right. I wish I reported that I had suspicions.”