MI5 asked Woolwich murder suspect Michael Adebolajo if he
wanted to work for them about six months before the killing, a childhood friend
has said.
Abu
Nusaybah told BBC Newsnight his friend – one of two men arrested after Drummer
Lee Rigby’s murder in south-east London on Wednesday – had rejected the
approach from the security service.
The
BBC could not obtain any confirmation from Whitehall sources.
Abu
Nusaybah was arrested at the BBC after giving the interview.
The
Met Police said a 31-year-old man had been arrested at 21:30 BST on Friday in
relation to suspected terrorism offences and search warrants were being
executed at two homes in east London.
The
arrest was not directly related to the murder of Drummer Rigby, it said.
The
soldier was killed in front of dozens of people near Woolwich Barracks, where
he was based, on Wednesday afternoon.
Mr.
Adebolajo and Michael Adebowale, who was also arrested at the scene, remain in
hospital after being shot by police.
In
his Newsnight interview, Abu Nusaybah said he thought “a change” had taken
place in his friend after his detention by security forces on a trip to Kenya
last year.
Abu
Nusaybah said Mr. Adebolajo suggested he had been physically and sexually
abused during an interrogation in a prison cell in the African country.
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