Family of soldier murdered in Woolwich calls for calm

The family of Lee Rigby, the soldier murdered on a street in Woolwich, southeast London, last week, has said he would not have wanted his death to be used to justify retaliatory attacks.

The statement, which said family members had been amazed at the “truly staggering” support they had received since Rigby was killed, was released yesterday as a coroner opened the inquest into the 25-year-old’s death.

Meanwhile, detectives investigating Rigby's murder have arrested a man on suspicion of involvement in supplying firearms illegally. One of the suspects, Michael Adebowale, has been charged with murder and possessing a firearm, a 9.4mm Dutch calibre KNIL Model 91 revolver.

The London Metropolitan Police said the arrested man was 42 and was detained at an address in north London. The murder investigation has sent officers to search two homes in north and east London.

'Excuse'
The Rigby family said: "We would like to emphasise that Lee would not want people to use his name as an excuse to carry out attacks against others. We would not wish any other families to go through this harrowing experience, and appeal to everyone to keep calm and show their respect in a peaceful manner."

In the statement from his mother and stepfather Lyn and Ian, wife Rebecca and son Jack, among others, they said the soldier “had many friends from different walks of life – some with different religious beliefs and cultures. But this made no difference to Lee – he always treated others with the greatest of respect.”

There has been a sharp increase in reports of Islamophobic incidents since Rigby’s death, with more than 200 reported to the Tell Mama hotline in the week after he was killed, including 11 attacks on 10 mosques.

Far-right groups such as the English Defence League and the British National party have been accused of exploiting the murder to stir up tensions. The EDL held a rally in Woolwich, hours after Rigby was killed, and another at Downing Street on Monday. The BNP has a march planned for today.

At the opening of the inquest into Rigby’s death, deputy chief inspector Grant Mallon told Southwark coroner’s court in London that the soldier was returning to the Royal Artillery barracks on May 22nd after being on duty at the Tower of London. Two men drove a car on to the carriageway where he was walking before attacking him with knives and a cleaver.

Mallon said one man had been charged with murder and police were waiting to interview the other. The hearing lasted about five minutes before it was adjourned, pending further investigations.

A postmortem found Rigby’s cause of death to be multiple cut and stab wounds. Michael Adebowale (22) appeared in court on Thursday charged with the soldier’s murder. A trial date for Adebowale has been set for June 28th.

Suspect in hospital
Another suspect, Michael Adebolajo (28), who was arrested at the scene after being shot by officers, is still being treated in hospital and is too ill to be questioned by detectives. Eight other people have been arrested in connection with Rigby's death, two of whom have been released.

An impromptu memorial to the soldier has been created close to where he was killed. People have paid their respects by leaving flags, football shirts and hundreds of bunches of flowers.

Queen Elizabeth II visited Woolwich barracks yesterday morning, during which time she was due to meet officers and soldiers associated with Rigby. The visit was a long-standing commitment but a Buckingham Palace spokeswoman said that “the queen was privately acknowledging the events of last week”. – (Guardian service)