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The Aftermath

Crime Files

The Aftermath

“It was the barbaric reality of terrorism on our land...it’s left an indelible print on society”Dr Abdul Haqq Baker – former chairman of Brixton mosque and founder of STREET UK.

Intelligence agencies are aware that there is little they can do to combat this new form of terrorism. The killers received no training and indeed had no contact with organisations like al-Qaeda and yet they were able to make a huge media impact:“This was an incredibly successful attack...obviously there are far more lethal attacks out there. But it got a huge amount of media coverage.” Professor Andrew Silke – Programme Director for Terrorism studies, University of East London.

But as successful as it was in capturing the headlines, the killers ultimately failed to achieve anything tangible. Community relations were strengthened not divided by the killing. Admittedly, there were some low-level outbreaks of violence by right-wing groups targeting Muslims and mosques. But the general view was that these were as senseless and pointless as the killing of Lee Rigby. Not surprisingly, foreign policy stayed exactly the same and, if anything, support, or at least empathy, for the troops increased. And of course, the murderers failed to martyr themselves, or persuade anyone that they themselves were soldiers.

But for the family of Lee Rigby, and the witnesses who saw his last shocking moments, life has forever changed. As much as Tina Nimmo has tried to move on from that day, the scene she witnessed still seeps into her mind and still haunt hers. And where once she was happy to see uniformed soldiers on her streets, now she is fearful:“(Woolwich barracks) been a garrison for many years and...we’ve...got so much in pride in the borough in our armed forces...We see the soldiers walking about...all their gear on. And they’ve never been bothered and you actually feel quite proud. But not anymore: It doesn’t feel like that. If I see a soldier with his gear on, I think ‘go and take it off because you’re going to be identified.”Lee’s son Jack was just two when his father was taken from him.

In July 2013, he attended the funeral wearing a T-shirt that said, ‘My Daddy, My Hero’. Thousands lined the streets to pay their respects:“Heaven has gained a hero”. Writing on the wreath laid in respect of Lee Rigby. In July 2014, Adebolajo, lost the first stage of his appeal. By this stage, some estimate that the pair have received over £200,000 in legal aid.