Breivik’s deadly crusade ‘was planned in London’
Hunt is on for possible UK accomplices after discovery of the Norwegian killer’s anti-Muslim manifesto
As Anders Behring Breivik prepared to face a court hearing in Oslo at 1pm today (11 am UK time), there were growing fears that he may not be a solo madman, but a member of a European-wide extremist ‘crusade’ dedicated to overthrowing governments tolerant of Islam.
In a 1,500-page manifesto sent out by email before he bombed central Oslo and massacred 86 teenagers and their carers on the island of Utoeya, Breivik boasted that he was one of up to 80 “solo martyr cells” belonging to a group he called the successors to the medieval Knights Templar.
He said he was recruited at a meeting in London in 2002 which, according to the Daily Telegraph, was hosted by two English extremists and attended by eight people in total. Breivik described his mentor as an Englishman - “let’s call him Richard”.
Scotland Yard detectives are now trying to establish whether there is any truth to the contents of the manifesto, which Breivik signed ‘Andrew Berwick’, an Anglicised version of his name.
According to the Guardian, European security sources have noticedincreased internet chatter from individuals claiming they belonged to the Knights Templar.
Breivik also claimed in the manifesto that he had been planning the attacks since 2009, raising questions about Norway’s intelligence capabilities.