Chief denies response to Rigby attack was too slow

Assistant Commissioner Cressida Dick told MPs the huge inquiry was being led by the Metropolitan Police with “strong support” from security services, and that she was “very comfortable” with its response to the horrific street attack on Drummer Rigby, whose wife Rebecca is from West Yorkshire.

Twelve people have been arrested in connection with the killing and two men charged with the young soldier’s murder, which is being treated as a terrorist attack.

Giving evidence before the Commons home affairs committee yesterday, Ms Dick dismissed suggestions the Met may have been slow in responding to the scene in south London on May 22.

“I do believe our response was very, very good,” she said.

“I cannot possibly put myself in the shoes of people who were at that horrific scene, completely traumatised, I am sure, by what had happened, waiting for the police to arrive.

“But what I can say is that both in terms of our unarmed response and our armed response, despite the fact there was some inaccurate reporting to start with, we were within the response times we would expect. I’m very comfortable with it.”

Ms Dick also revealed Scotland Yard is closely watching radical cleric Anjem Choudary to see if his proclamations break the law, amid reports he has made controversial remarks about the murder.

The former spokesman for the now-banned Islamist group Islam4UK, who admitted knowing one of the men charged with the soldier’s murder, is also understood to be receiving police protection at his London home.

Asked by committee chair Keith Vaz if the Met is providing protection to Choudary, Ms Dick said: “We constantly risk-assess what’s going on around a number of different people who have high profiles in the media.

“In the case of somebody like Mr Choudary, we are constantly assessing, of course, whether any of his proclamations are breaking the criminal law, and working with the CPS to ensure that if he is breaking the criminal law we know about it very swiftly.”

She added that if officers fear someone’s “life is at risk, or indeed that there’s going to be a major disorder around them”, then they may put a police presence in place.