The father of a man stabbed to death during the London Bridge attack has said his life has been “destroyed” by the atrocity and he is still haunted by the loss of his son, who was killed as he tried to help others.
Philippe Pigeard, 51, told the Guardian he believed the attack should have been prevented by MI5 and the police, and that British authorities failed by not putting barriers in place to protect people on the bridge from a vehicle attack.
His son, Alexandre, 26, was a waiter at Boro Bistro restaurant next to London Bridge on 3 June 2017, when three terrorists carried out the attack.
The ringleader, Khuram Butt, had been under investigation by MI5, which failed to spot his plot and the danger he posed.
Pigeard, a musician and poet from Paris, said he understood counter-terrorism investigators had a difficult job but believed they should have done better.
He said he found their evidence to the inquest into the deaths of eight people during the attack unconvincing and “frustrating”, because the security services were certain they had not made mistakes.
The inquest heard Butt’s brother-in-law rang the police because he was so concerned about his Islamist extremism, but nothing was done and the information was mishandled.
Pigeard said: “Despite the warnings, the direct warnings, with calls from relatives of Butt, they did not put more pressure on the guy … Many of Butt’s actions are unknown by the investigators, even though they were supposed to have him under investigation.
“The question is: could this attack have been prevented? The answer is really difficult – but yes, probably. I think they could have done a better job.”
Pigeard criticised an MI5 witness known only as “L”, who testified at the inquest, and said: “It was very frustrating when I listened to witness L. I was irritated by the way he talks, he was very aggressive, we were 3 metres away. He was so sure of himself and so proud of what they had done.
“When he was questioned … there was not a moment when he said things could have been better. All he said was they had done the best job possible. I don’t think so – too many failings.”
Pigeard said the March 2017 attack on Westminster Bridge, in which a car was driven into pedestrians, should have led authorities to do more to protect London Bridge. “First Westminster, three months before – where were the barriers on [London] Bridge? If there were barriers on the bridge then [there would have been] no attacks in that area.
“I still don’t know who is responsible for the decision not to put barriers on the bridge.”
Pigeard said of the impact on relatives of the victims: “If you add all the parents, it is a lot of people. My life is destroyed, for the last two years, it is stopped. It is a long night, I am obsessed.”
Alexandre Pigeard ran to help others after the van driven by the terrorists crashed into railings above the courtyard of the restaurant where he worked.
His father said: “I still shout in my sleep when I manage to sleep, I still shout no, as to tell him not to go. When he heard the bang in the restaurant, he rushed to the place where the crash was, because he wanted to help.”
“It is a matter of seconds. He could have been in another place in the restaurant and not hear[d] the bang.”
He said his son’s nine months in London’s were the happiest of his adult life. Alexandre Pigeard was a music producer and DJ who loved the clubs and parties London had to offer.
His father said he last spoke to him hours before his death. The two chatted on FaceTime while Alexandre Pigeard had a break from his job as a waiter and ate a quick meal. They talked about their shared passion for music.
Pigeard praised the thoroughness of the inquest, which examined the attacks and the run-up to them in minute detail.
When Pigeard saw news of the attack, he desperately called and messaged his son. He began to fear the worst when he received no reply, more so as his son had messaged to say he was safe after the Westminster Bridge attack.
Pigeard, who has attended most of the seven weeks of the inquest, has said he is “obsessed” by the hatred of the attackers and the events that led to the killing of his son.
Imagining his son’s final moments, Pigeard said: “What was the last picture in the eye of Alexandre … what was the last sound in his ear?”
