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Dover firebomb attack

Coordinates: 51°06′55″N 1°18′43″E / 51.11540°N 1.31198°E / 51.11540; 1.31198
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Dover firebomb attack
LocationDover, Kent, England
Coordinates51°06′55″N 1°18′43″E / 51.11540°N 1.31198°E / 51.11540; 1.31198
Date30 October 2022
11:20 (GMT)
Attack type
Arson
WeaponsPetrol bomb
Deaths1 (the perpetrator)
Injured2
MotiveFar-right extremism

On 30 October 2022, a petrol bomb attack was perpetrated against a Border Force centre for processing migrants in Dover, Kent, England. Two people suffered minor injuries.

After the attack, the suspect, a 66-year-old man from High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, drove to a nearby petrol station where he killed himself.

Attack

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Around 11:20 GMT on 30 October 2022, a man drove a white Seat Tarraco to the Border Force centre in Dover, Kent, and threw two or three petrol bombs at the complex.[1] One of the bombs failed to ignite.[2][3] A witness stated that the attacker then drove to a petrol station and tied a noose around his neck and attached it to a metal pole before driving off, killing himself.[2][3]

Investigation

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Kent Police said that two or three devices had been thrown into a Home Office establishment and that investigations were ongoing.[2] They were unable to confirm that the attacker had killed himself.[4]

An army bomb disposal unit was sent to the site of the attack and to the petrol station on Limekiln Road to examine a suspect vehicle,[3] where another device was found and later made safe by the Explosive Ordnance Disposal Unit.[5]

Police said it was likely a hate attack, driven by a right-wing ideology, and was being investigated by counter-terrorism police.[6][7]

Suspect

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The suspect was Andrew Leak, a 66-year-old man from High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire.[8][9] A property in High Wycombe was searched by Thames Valley Police the day after the attack.[9]

Leak had posted rants on Facebook against Muslims, asylum seekers, China, and COVID-19.[10][8] Counter-terrorism teams were been brought in[when?] to investigate him.[10]

On 5 November 2022 Counter Terrorism Police South East announced that it had "recovered evidence that indicates the attack at an immigration centre in Dover on Sunday, 30 October 2022, was motivated by a terrorist ideology" and "there was an extreme right-wing motivation behind the attack".[11]

Motive

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Counter Terrorism Policing senior national coordinator Tim Jaques said that while there were "strong indications that mental health was likely a factor" he concluded that the "suspect’s actions were primarily driven by an extremist ideology" and these met the "threshold for a terrorist incident".[11]

The suspect was unknown to counter terrorist police and there were no indications he had worked with anyone else.[11]

References

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  1. ^ "UK immigration office handling asylum seekers firebombed". TheJournal.ie. 30 October 2022. Retrieved 31 October 2022.
  2. ^ a b c Nicholls, Peter (30 October 2022). "Man attacks UK migrant processing centre in Dover, kills himself". Reuters. Archived from the original on 19 May 2023. Retrieved 31 October 2022.
  3. ^ a b c Lennon, Sam (30 October 2022). "Man kills himself after petrol bomb attack on asylum centre". Kent Online. Retrieved 31 October 2022.
  4. ^ Watkinson, Callum (30 October 2022). "Suspect found dead after Dover migrant centre firebombed". ITV News. Retrieved 31 October 2022.
  5. ^ "Dover migrant centre: Man found dead near scene of fire attack". BBC News. 30 October 2022. Retrieved 31 October 2022.
  6. ^ "Dover attack on migrant centre driven by hate, say terror police". BBC News. 1 November 2022.
  7. ^ "Dover migrant centre attack driven by right-wing ideology - police". BBC News. 5 November 2022. Retrieved 5 November 2022.
  8. ^ a b Weaver, Matthew (1 November 2022). "'I will end illegal immigration': who was Dover firebomb suspect Andrew Leak?". The Guardian.
  9. ^ a b Weaver, Matthew; Dodd, Vikram (31 October 2022). "Police urged to treat Dover attack as terrorism, as suspect's home searched". The Guardian.
  10. ^ a b Jee, Alex (1 November 2022). "Dover petrol bomber Andrew Leak's hate-filled Facebook posts". KentOnline.
  11. ^ a b c "UK police: 'Extreme right wing motivation behind firebomb attack' on immigration centre". TheJournal.ie. Agence France-Presse. 5 November 2022. Retrieved 5 November 2022.
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