Two shot after soldier is hacked to death in street with meat cleaver

The black man, dressed in a grey hooded jacket and black woolly hat, apologises to members of the public who witnessed the horrific scenes before making a number of political statements.

In the footage, obtained by ITV News, he is heard to say: “We must fight them as they fight us. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.

“I apologise that women have had to witness this today, but in our land our women have to see the same. You people will never be safe. Remove your government, they don’t care about you.”

The attacker, who spoke clear English without a foreign accent, is then seen walking towards his victim, lying in the street in Woolwich, south east London. Another man is stood over the body.

Eyewitnesses said the victim, who a local MP said was believed to be a soldier, was hacked to death by the two men, with some suggesting the attackers tried to behead him.

Home Secretary Theresa May said: “I have been briefed by the Metropolitan Police Commissioner and the Director General of the Security Service.

“It has been confirmed to me that a man has been brutally murdered this afternoon in south east London. Two other men were shot by armed police and they are currently receiving treatment for their injuries.

“I have called a COBR (Cabinet Office Briefing Room) meeting where I will receive further briefing. This is a sickening and barbaric attack.”

David Cameron described the attack as “truly shocking”.

Downing Street said the Prime Minister, who was planning to stay in Paris overnight after meeting the French president, would be returning tonight instead.

Eyewitnesses described seeing the “crazed” attackers “hacking” at their victim and posing for pictures before charging at police wielding meat cleavers.

One onlooker, identified as James, said he saw two black men chopping at a man in his 20s like he was “a piece of meat”.

He told LBC radio: “They were hacking at this poor guy, literally.

“They were hacking at him, chopping him, cutting him.”

Describing the murderers as “animals”, he told how he saw them drag their victim from the pavement into the middle of the road.

“These two guys were crazed,” he said as he fought back tears.

They then stood around, waving knives and a gun, asking people nearby to take pictures of them “as if they wanted to be on TV or something”.

He said they were running up and down the road, urging people to take pictures.

“In my opinion, they were waiting for the police to arrive to be shot by the police. That’s the only thing I can think,” he said.

When armed police arrived 20 minutes later, “the man with the beanie hat, the tall guy, he charged at the police vehicle,” James said.

Another witness, Julia Wilders, 51, who lives near the scene, said she saw one of the attackers run towards police clutching two meat cleavers.

“He ran towards police before they could even get out of the car, and it looked like the other one was going to lift the gun up,” she said.

“We were driving back and my husband said to me ‘don’t look, they’re resuscitating someone’. But apparently they were stabbing him.”