Rock star says he was re-enacting TV scene after video appears to show him acting out Isis-style beheading in desert 
 
 Sir Rod Stewart has denied mocking up an Islamic State-style beheading in the desert and claimed he was in fact recreating a scene from Game of Thrones. 
 
 The rock veteran, 72, was seen in a since-removed video on a dune in Abu Dhabi pretending to cut the throat of a companion who was positioned in front of him on his knees. 
 
 The scene, posted on Instagram by his wife, Penny Lancaster, was reminiscent of several propaganda films released by Isis, including footage of the killing of Alan Henning, a British aid worker. 
 
 Rod Stewart’s ‘beheading’ is less offensive than tabloid hypocrisy | Marina Hyde Read more 
 
 But in an apology, Stewart said he was playing out a scene from the fantasy TV drama Game of Thrones. 
 
 The singer said: “From re-enacting the Beatles’ Abbey Road crossing to spontaneously playing out Game Of Thrones, we were simply larking about pre-show. 
 
 
 
 “Understandably, this has been misinterpreted and I send my deepest apologies to those who have been offended.” 
 
 
 
 Relatives of David Haines, an aid worker who was executed in September 2014 by Isis, expressed their anger at Stewart’s actions on Friday. Haines’ daughter told the Daily Mail: “This actually happened to my dad and it’s not something to joke about... I think it’s disgraceful that a celebrity who is thought of as a role model would do this sort of thing.” 
 
 
 
 Her stepmother, Haines’ second wife Dragana, called Stewart’s stunt “immature and completely irresponsible” and asked that he apologise to the families who had lost loved ones to Isis. 
 
 She went on: “All we want to do is try to live our lives in as normal way as possible under the circumstances. I want my daughter to have a happy childhood and she does not need to be reminded of her loss every now and then by people who unfortunately find it laughable.” 
 
 Stewart had performed in Abu Dhabi and is on a world tour with forthcoming dates in the US and Mexico. He performed at the O2 in London last weekend. 
 
 A flurry of Isis beheadings – many carried out by the British extremist Mohammed Emwazi, known as Jihadi John – drew global attention when the terrorist group released high-quality footage of the grisly deaths. 
 
 Among his victims were Henning, from Salford; James Wright Foley, an American photojournalist; Steven Sotloff, an American journalist; David Haines, a British aid worker; and Peter Kassig, an American aid worker. ||||| At long, long last – the needle in the Instagram haystack. There is finally something I want to look at on the photo-sharing site. You have to wade through a fair few million shots of people’s arses, unsuccessful stabs at insouciance, pools they’ve got a timeshare on, misguided sense of what constitutes a fantasy version of themselves, and an all-pervasive sense that nutrition is not just an acceptable but an electrifying topic of conversation. Then after all that, you find it: Rod Stewart apparently doing an Islamic State beheading while on tour in Abu Dhabi. Posted by his wife Penny Lancaster. I swore I’d never do it, but it’s happening – I’m breaking out the hashtag. #blessed #soblessed. 
 
 Sir Rod Stewart says mock execution was Game of Thrones prank Read more 
 
 Admittedly, there are questions to be asked. Primarily: why did none of the media outlets that ran this footage headline it “First cut is the deepest”? I don’t know exactly why it was those subeditors got into the business, but I’m pretty sure it wasn’t to leave that one on the cutting-room floor. Shame on them. 
 
 Before we go on, though, let’s take a closer look at the footage. We set our scene in the Abu Dhabi desert, where Rod and the rod-tourage are dancing along the top of a sand dune. The rear is brought up by Penny, who captions it: “Rod Stewart (leader) band doing a Beatles sand dune crossing.” Not quite, Penny – they weren’t doing a conga across Abbey Road. Anyway, after that Penny peels off and descends the dune while behind her back, Rod seeks a volunteer from the line-up for a purpose as yet unknown. A woman appears to put herself forward but she’s rejected in favour of a bloke, because ultimately Rod Stewart is and always has been a ruddy gentleman. The bloke kneels down, Rod wields the imaginary knife; the deed is done. But still, nothing in the footage is as slashed-to-the-waist as Rod’s shirt. Then it’s down the dune for a bit of cuddle with Pen. As her next caption has it: #sandyafternoons. Every picture tells a story. 
 
 For long-term admirers of Rod, such as me, the incident is yet another amusing addition to the canon of a man whose spirit is permanently distilled in the 1978 album cover of Blondes Have More Fun, in which Rod is shown wrapped round a brunette. He is by all accounts a laugh who revels in his good fortune, and who – tellingly – has yet to find the wife who doesn’t want to spend a very jolly and amicable Christmas with all the ex-wives. I suppose this business in the desert may feel a little off-colour to some – but then, so did the hilarious telegram he sent to his mate Elton John’s eyebrow-raising wedding to Renate Blauel in 1984. “You may still be standing,” it read, “but we’re all on the fucking floor!” 
 
 Isn’t he majestic? I can’t think of anything more unbearably vulgar than demanding good taste from our rock stars. Mainly, then, Rod’s desert antics are to be welcomed for the bind in which they placed the Daily Mail. On Wednesday, after he’d been snapped travelling to his O2 gig on the London underground, the Mail ran an article headlined: “In praise of Rod Stewart and what luvvies can learn from him”. Barely 24 hours later … well, what the hell are they supposed to do with this? How many Hail Central Lines do you have to say to atone for this? 
 
 Facebook Twitter Pinterest ‘After he’d been snapped travelling to his London O2 gig on the tube, the Mail ran an editorial headlined: In praise of Rod Stewart and what luvvies can learn from him.’ Photograph: Lorne Thomson/Redferns 
 
 Alas, we know the timeworn path these things now have to take – and you can be sure it doesn’t count for anything that Rod sang the theme tune to the Falklands war. A line has been crossed. A line in the sand. Even since I have typed the above, Rod has felt moved to issue an apology for the “larking about”. Far from being a mock Isis execution, he clarifies somewhat hopefully, what they were doing was “spontaneously playing out Game of Thrones”. 
 
 Aha. Wrong John, guys! He was being Jon Snow, not Jihadi John. Clearly – clearly – the papers have gone and got themselves confused by an ecosystem. If Sir Rod had done it on snowy Ben Nevis in January, they could have headlined it “The KNIGHT’S watch”. As it is, he’s cocked up with the backdrop. Rod is consequently now several hours into a classic modern Wonderland scandal, in which people are calling for him to be stripped of his knighthood – presumably because they’re insufficiently gifted ironists to shout: “Off with his head!” 
 
 For the benefit of the last 300 earthlings not to have earned a media studies degree from the University of Life, I merely offer a reminder how this offence process typically works. Rod Stewart’s wife posts a silly video on Instagram. Then a reporter (or many reporters) rings up the family of someone who was genuinely beheaded by Isis – “Hello there! Sorry to bother you … ” – and asks them if they’ve seen it. They probably haven’t, so they are directed towards the clip. Then they are asked how distressed they are, and how much it has upset and offended them and shamed their dead beloved’s memory. I will leave you to decide who has behaved most offensively in this chain of events. 
 
 In the meantime, do remember that Rod is a chap who has added to the gaiety of various nations, which is infinitely more than can be said for the endless armies of halfwits taking offence on others’ behalf. I can only hope his desert storm blows over quickly. No one wants to see this get to the point where the PR solution is a sombre acoustic version of I Was Only Joking, performed in an undisclosed Levant location for hero Brit special forces. (Actually, what am I talking about? Would definitely watch.) ||||| The daughter of ISIS execution victim David Haines today accused Sir Rod Stewart of pursuing a 'cheap laugh' in an 'appalling' film where he appeared to stage a mock execution in the desert. 
 
 Bethany Haines, the daughter of David Haines, has branded the singer's actions 'disgraceful' and told MailOnline: 'This actually happened to my dad and it's not something to joke about'. 
 
 Today Sir Rod, who is worth an estimated £160million, made a humbling apology after he appeared to mimic an ISIS beheading in a 'sick' video made while frolicking in the desert with his wife Penny Lancaster. 
 
 He said that he had been 'larking around' before his show in Abu Dhabi last night and said it was a Game of Thrones reenactment not an ISIS execution. 
 
 Bethany's aid worker father David, 44, was captured by extremists beheaded in early September 2014 by executioner-in-chief Jihadi John. 
 
 As the shock video emerged she told MailOnline: 'I think it's disgraceful that a celebrity who is thought of as a role model would do this sort of thing. There's some things that are funny but that isn't.' 
 
 She added: 'I had a lot of respect for Rod Stewart, now you couldn't pay me to listen to his music'. 
 
 David Haines' widow and Bethany's stepmother, his second wife Dragana, told MailOnline: ‘It is immature and completely irresponsible. 
 
 ‘The least he can do is apologise to all the families who have lost their loved ones in such a horrible way.' 
 
 In trouble: Rod Stewart (top right) faces a storm today after he appeared to recreate an ISIS-style execution in the desert - as his wife Penny sits in front of him in the sand 
 
 Bizarre: Rod can be seen asking his friend to get on to his knees - he then pulled his head back and pretended to cut his throat 
 
 Furious: Bethany Haines, pictured at the funeral of her father David Haines, right, has branded the singer's actions 'disgraceful' and told MailOnline: 'This actually happened to my dad and it's not something to joke about'. 
 
 Dragana, who is fighting breast cancer, added: ‘All we want to do is try to live our lives in as normal way as possible under the circumstances. I want my daughter to have happy childhood and she does not need to be reminded of her loss every now and then by people who unfortunately find it laughable. 
 
 ‘And at this point in time, I don't want to be stressed by such things even more. I need all my strength to beat the cancer and be strong for my little big girl. 
 
 ‘To them it might have been just a joke, but for us it is additional stress and more pain.’ 
 
 Upset: Dragana Haines,44, pictured on her wedding day with her late husband, said Sir Rod 'should apologise to all the families' of those who have died 
 
 Rod's actions mimic the large number of murders carried out by ISIS' executioner-in-chief Jihadi John, who beheaded dozens including Mr Haines and Alan Henning, 47, from Salford, in 2014. 
 
 Jihadi John was later eviscerated in a drone strike after becoming the world's most wanted man because of his barbaric acts. 
 
 Bethany Haines said: 'Instead of putting his time and effort into a cheap laugh at people's expense, he (Rod) should be putting his time and effort into helping the people affected by what's happened in Syria and everyone who's been affected by Isis.' 
 
 Critics today called the stunt 'sick', 'stupid' and 'offensive' to victims and their families with some saying he should lose his knighthood. 
 
 After the video emerged Sir Rod said that he had been 'larking around' before his show in Abu Dhabi last night and said it was the execution was a Game of Thrones reenactment not an ISIS execution. 
 
 He added: 'Understandably this has been misinterpreted and I send my deepest apologies to those who have been offended'. 
 
 Rod's video was posted on Instagram by Penny Lancaster as the star performed in Abu Dhabi last night. 
 
 He is is on a world tour and will head to America next, with dates in Las Vegas and Florida before going to Mexico. He performed at the 02 in London last weekend. 
 
 The mock execution film was captured by his wife Penny as they did a 'Beatles-style' walk across the top of a sand dune. 
 
 But after doing an Abbey Road inspired video Rod then pretended to behead a friend while his wife Penny and others rolled in the sand. 
 
 Penny sat on the dune not knowing that her husband was carrying out the mock execution behind her. 
 
 Game over: After the 'joke' ends Rod returns to his friends as Penny sits in the sand unaware of what had unfolded 
 
 Sandy afternoon! Penny Lancaster posted a snapshot of herself and Rod Stewart lazing on the dunes 
 
 Later the 72-year-old singer soaked up the sun with his wife, with the Loose Women presenter showing her her famously long legs in a pair of tiny denim shorts. 
 
 Clearly relishing the warm sun, Penny posted a picture of herself relaxing on the sand with her husband alongside the caption 'sandy afternoons.' 
 
 Penny wraps an arm around Rod who is wearing an unbuttoned white shirt, trousers and a pair of sunglasses. 
 
 Both the couple, who have been married for nearly ten years, were smiling broadly as they snuggled up together. 
 
 From re-enacting the Beatles' Abbey Road crossing to spontaneously playing out Game Of Thrones, we were simply larking about pre-show. Understandably, this has been misinterpreted and I send my deepest apologies to those who have been offended Sir Rod on his 'misinterpreted' film 
 
 In another snap, Penny is shown sipping a drink while showing off new henna tattoo encircling her hand with the caption: 'henna time!' 
 
 Rod also got his own tattoo, with an inking readying 'Celtic' on his forearm in honour of his favourite football team. 
 
 The Maggie May singer has been busy performing a string of international dates with gigs in Las Vegas, mexico and Florida all lined up. 
 
 But the pensioner's continued success story hasn't given him delusions of grandeur, 
 
 Last weekend, his wife Penny posted several Instagram shots of the couple travelling to his O2 gig by tube. 
 
 It came weeks after Sir Rod Stewart had football fans giggling into their Sunday roasts after an eccentric performance on the Scottish Cup draw. 
 
 The 72-year-old rocker smiled mischievously at the camera as he pulled out the balls of each team with tongue-in-cheek enthusiasm, before shouting out their numbers. 
 
 His antics left viewers wondering if he had enjoyed a drink or two before appearing on air, with many sharing their amusement on social media. 
 
 Happy with henna! Penny Lancaster sipped a drink while showing off detailed inkings around her hand yesterday 
 
 Sneaky tattoo! Rod posted a snapshot of himself with a new henna 'Celtic' inking - a tribute to his beloved football club 
 
 'From the overground to the Underground!': Penny uploaded a snap of cheeky Rod on the Central Line tube last weekend 
 
 Rod Stewart had football fans giggling into their Sunday roasts after an eccentric performance on the Scottish Cup draw 
 
 The 72-year-old rocker smiled mischievously at the camera as he pulled out the balls of each team with tongue-in-cheek enthusiasm 
 
 Sir Rod was accompanied by former Celtic defender Alan Stubbs on the fifth round draw, who appeared to be both amused and bemused by the rock star's behaviour. 
 
 However, his flamboyant attire, a dapper green blazer with a leopard print cravat, and eccentric gestures were not the only things raising eyebrows, at Airdrie's Excelsior Stadium in North Lanarkshire. 
 
 Celtic fan Stewart seemed to get so carried away that he accidentally got a six and a nine mixed up, incorrectly revealing that Greenock Morton had drawn Celtic away. 
 
 Thankfully, the tie was quickly corrected to Celtic vs Inverness moments later. 
 
 But after finding out that he had given Brendan Rodgers' team a home draw, Sir Rod cheered and gave a little first pump. 
 
 The memorable event ended with Stewart accidentally ignoring a handshake from Scottish Football Association president Alan McRae and giving a thumbs-up to the camera. ||||| Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption The masked militant first appeared in numerous gruesome videos put out by Islamic State, as Lucy Manning reports 
 
 The masked Islamic State militant known as "Jihadi John", who has been pictured in the videos of the beheadings of Western hostages, has been named. 
 
 He is Mohammed Emwazi, a Kuwaiti-born British man in his mid-20s from west London, who was previously known to British security services. 
 
 British police declined to comment, citing ongoing investigations. 
 
 Emwazi first appeared in a video last August, when he apparently killed the US journalist James Foley. 
 
 Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Dragana Haines, wife of slain hostage David: "I hope he will be caught alive... He needs to be put to justice" 
 
 He was later thought to have been pictured in the videos of the beheadings of US journalist Steven Sotloff, British aid worker David Haines, British taxi driver Alan Henning, and American aid worker Abdul-Rahman Kassig, also known as Peter. 
 
 Image copyright Family handouts Image caption (Clockwise from left) Islamic State victims James Foley, Abdul-Rahman (Peter) Kassig, Alan Henning, Kenji Goto and Steven Sotloff 
 
 'The Beatles' 
 
 In each of the videos, the militant appeared dressed in a black robe with a black balaclava covering all but his eyes and top of his nose. 
 
 Speaking with a British accent, he taunted Western powers before holding his knife to the hostages' necks, appearing to start cutting before the film stopped. The victims' decapitated bodies were then shown. 
 
 Earlier this month, the militant featured in a video in which the Japanese journalist Kenji Goto appeared to be beheaded. Hostages released by IS said he was one of three British jihadists guarding Westerners abducted by the group in Syria. They were known collectively as "the Beatles". 
 
 Mohammed Emwazi timeline: 
 
 1988 : Born in Kuwait, moves to UK in 1994 
 
 : Born in Kuwait, moves to UK in 1994 2009 : Completes computing degree at University of Westminster 
 
 : Completes computing degree at University of Westminster Aug 2009: Travels to Tanzania with two friends for safari but refused entry at Dar es Salaam. Put on flight to Amsterdam. After questioning there, returns to Dover 
 
 Travels to Tanzania with two friends for safari but refused entry at Dar es Salaam. Put on flight to Amsterdam. After questioning there, returns to Dover Sept 2009: Travels to Kuwait to stay with father's family 
 
 Travels to Kuwait to stay with father's family July 2010: Returns to UK for short stay but told he cannot return to Kuwait as visa denied 
 
 Returns to UK for short stay but told he cannot return to Kuwait as visa denied 2012: Passes Celta English language teaching course 
 
 Passes Celta English language teaching course 2013: Changes name by deed poll. Tries to travel to Kuwait but is stopped. Disappears. Parents report him missing. Police tell family four months later he has entered Syria 
 
 Source: Cage, London-based campaign group 
 
 'Jihadi John' movement mapped 
 
 Emwazi "claimed harassment" 
 
 In a news conference, Asim Qureshi, the research director of the London-based lobby group Cage, which had been in contact with Emwazi over a number of years, explained how he had been approached by the Washington Post for the story and detailed the difficulties Emwazi had had with security services in the UK and overseas. 
 
 Mr Qureshi said Emwazi, who is understood to be about 27, had been "extremely kind, gentle and soft-spoken, the most humble young person I knew". 
 
 He said he could "not be 100% certain" Jihadi John was Emwazi although there were "striking similarities". 
 
 Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Journalists gathered outside a home in London where Mohammed Emwazi is believed to have once lived 
 
 Emwazi's difficulties began when he travelled to Tanzania in May 2009 following his graduation in computer programming at the University of Westminster, Mr Qureshi added. 
 
 He and two friends had planned to go on a safari but once they landed in Dar es Salaam they were detained by police and held overnight. 
 
 Emwazi then ended up flying to Amsterdam, in the Netherlands, where he claimed to be met by British intelligence agents from MI5 who accused him of trying to travel to Somalia, where the jihadist group al-Shabab operates. He denied the accusation and said the agents had tried to recruit him before allowing him to return to the UK. 
 
 Analysis: Frank Gardner, BBC News 
 
 US and British counter-terrorism officials discovered the identity of "Jihadi John" as far back as last September. The FBI, Britain's MI5 and other intelligence agencies used a combination of voice recognition software, interviews with former hostages and on-the-ground research in London to build up a profile of the man now revealed to be Mohammed Emwazi. 
 
 They have always declined to reveal the name for "operational reasons". Now that it's out in the public domain, it's emerged that Emwazi was well-known to MI5 and that it even tried to recruit him as an informer, years before he went off to Syria to eventually join Islamic State. 
 
 The practice by intelligence agencies of approaching jihadist sympathisers to work for them is likely to continue. It's believed both Britain and the US have informers inside the Islamic State "capital" of Raqqa. Yet this seems to have been little help in stopping the actions of Mohammed Emwazi, or bringing him to justice. 
 
 Profile: Mohammed Emwazi 
 
 Jihadist's 'typical trajectory' 
 
 Emwazi later moved to Kuwait, where he got a job at a computer company. But on a visit to London in 2010, he was detained by British counter-terrorism officials and prevented from flying back to Kuwait, his friends said. 
 
 "I had a job waiting for me and marriage to get started," Emwazi wrote in a June 2010 email to Cage. 
 
 Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Asim Qureshi of the human rights group Cage describes Mohammed Emwazi as a "beautiful young man" 
 
 Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption "They want to go watch him be prosecuted and convicted in an American court of law," said a Sotloff family spokesman. 
 
 "[But now] I feel like a prisoner, only not in a cage, in London," he added, "a person imprisoned and controlled by security service men, stopping me from living my new life in my birthplace and country, Kuwait." 
 
 Mr Qureshi said Emwazi had made persistent efforts to try to change his situation: "We had two-and-a-half years of communications talking about what he could do to alleviate his problems." 
 
 He said he did not know what had happened to Emwazi, adding: "When we treat people as if they are outsiders they will inevitably feel like outsiders - our entire national security strategy for the last 13 years has only increased alienation. A narrative of injustice has taken root." 
 
 Emwazi was believed to have travelled to Syria around 2013 and later joined IS, which has declared the creation of a "caliphate" in the large swathes of Syria and neighbouring Iraq it controls. 
 
 A spokeswoman for Prime Minister David Cameron would not confirm or deny the latest reports, adding that the police and security services were working hard to find those responsible for the murder of the British hostages. 
 
 The University of Westminster confirmed Emwazi had left six years ago, adding: "If these allegations are true, we are shocked and sickened." 
 
 The BBC's Rajini Vaidyanathan in Washington says the FBI went on record last September to confirm it knew who Jihadi John was. However, US officials said this month they would not name him as they believed this would be the best strategy for finding him and bringing him to justice. 
 
 A spokesman for the family of Steven Sotloff said: "We want to sit in a courtroom, watch him sentenced and see him sent to a super-max prison." 
 
 David Haines's sister, Bethany, welcomed the identification, but told ITV News: "I think all the families will feel closure and relief once there's a bullet between his eyes." 
 
 Jihadi John sightings ||||| Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Witnesses describe how the attack near the Houses of Parliament unfolded 
 
 The Westminster attacker was British-born and known to the police and intelligence services, Prime Minister Theresa May has revealed. 
 
 She told MPs he had been investigated some years ago but was not part of the current intelligence picture. 
 
 The so-called Islamic State group has said it was behind the attack. 
 
 Eight arrests in London and Birmingham followed the attack that has left four dead - PC Keith Palmer, Aysha Frade, Kurt Cochran and the attacker. 
 
 Mrs Frade worked at a London college, while Mr Cochran was from Utah, in the US, and visiting the capital with his wife Melissa, who is in hospital with serious injuries. 
 
 According to a family statement, the couple had been celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary and were due to return to the US on Thursday. 
 
 PC Palmer was a 48-year-old father, who was an unarmed member of the parliamentary and diplomatic protection squad, with 15 years' service. 
 
 A JustGiving page set up to raise money for the family of PC Palmer reached its initial target of £100,000 within 24 hours, but the target has since been doubled. 
 
 In the attack on Wednesday afternoon, a man drove a car along a pavement on Westminster Bridge, knocking down pedestrians, creating panic and leaving dozens injured. 
 
 After crashing his car into railings, the attacker ran towards Parliament where he stabbed PC Palmer. Armed police shot dead the attacker in the grounds. 
 
 Seven of those injured are still in hospital in a critical condition. A further 29 had been treated in hospital, police said. 
 
 Car hire company Enterprise said the vehicle had been rented from its Spring Hill depot in Birmingham. 
 
 Prime Minister Theresa May paid tribute to PC Palmer saying: "He was every inch a hero and his actions will never be forgotten." 
 
 She also said one of three police officers who had been injured as they returned from an event to recognise their bravery was in a stable condition. 
 
 She told MPs, many of whom had been caught up in the commotion on Wednesday: "We will never waver in the face of terrorism." 
 
 Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Mr Cleverly fought back tears as he spoke about his friend Keith Palmer 
 
 An emotional James Cleverly MP asked Mrs May to consider recognising posthumously the "gallantry and sacrifice" made by PC Palmer, who he knew from his time in the Army. 
 
 The so-called Islamic State claimed through its news agency that the Westminster attacker had been a "soldier of the Islamic State". 
 
 Image caption (From left) PC Keith Palmer, Kurt Cochran and Aysha Frade all died in the attack 
 
 Mrs Frade worked at a London sixth-form college just a few hundred metres from Westminster Bridge, which has now reopened. 
 
 The principal at DLD College, Rachel Borland, said she was "highly regarded and loved by our students and by her colleagues". 
 
 Mrs May said 12 Britons had been admitted to hospital and other victims included three French children, two Romanians, four South Koreans, one German, one Pole, one Irish, one Chinese, one Italian, one American and two Greeks. 
 
 Thierry Terret, who is in charge of schools in Brittany, said the three injured students were not in a life-threatening condition and were on their way home. 
 
 Analysis: The PM's carefully-chosen words 
 
 Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Prime Minister Theresa May said MPs were meeting as normal to show "we are not afraid" 
 
 By Dominic Casciani, home affairs correspondent 
 
 The prime minister's carefully-worded statement that the killer was once investigated raises more questions than it currently answers. 
 
 It appears that the individual was discounted as a "peripheral figure" on the edge of some other operation. She didn't say whether that means he was considered and discounted for good reason by MI5 intelligence officers, investigated for a criminal offence by detectives or even ever arrested. 
 
 However, she also stressed he was not part of the "current intelligence picture" - and that means he wasn't currently on the radar at all. This points to the very difficult dilemma faced by security services combating these kinds of threats. 
 
 Every day they have to prioritise, or triage, who to pursue and who to discount. People who were once a threat change their thinking. They grow up, have kids and settle down. MI5, meanwhile, is tasked with focusing on those they know of with the most advanced plans. 
 
 Some of those they discount, or temporarily turn away from, later turn out to be more dangerous than initially thought. They include the ringleader of the 7/7 bombings and one of the two men who killed Fusilier Lee Rigby. 
 
 Intelligence is never a complete picture - it is not even like a jigsaw with missing pieces. It's a case of trying to interpret fragments of information that rarely amount to a whole. 
 
 Westminster attack 22 March 2017 4 people killed 40 injured 12 Britons in hospital 
 
 3 French children injured 
 
 9 other nationalities affected 
 
 8 arrests made 
 
 Earlier, Acting Deputy Commissioner Mark Rowley said seven arrests had been made during raids in London and Birmingham - an eighth was announced several hours later. 
 
 The BBC understands that searches and arrests have been carried out in Forest Gate, east London, Wales, Surrey and Sussex, as well as in Birmingham. 
 
 "It is still our belief - which continues to be borne out by our investigation - that this attacker acted alone and was inspired by international terrorism," Mr Rowley said. 
 
 "To be explicit, at this stage we have no specific information about further threats to the public." 
 
 In other developments: 
 
 The Queen said her "thoughts, prayers, and deepest sympathy" are with all those who have been affected by the "awful violence" 
 
 Security at Parliament will be reviewed, says Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon 
 
 A candlelit vigil will be held in Trafalgar Square in central London on Thursday evening 
 
 MPs held a minute's silence before Parliament continued business as normal 
 
 People worried about family and friends can call the police casualty bureau on: 0800 056 0944 or 0207 158 0010. Anyone with images or footage of the incident can send them to ukpoliceimageappeal.co.uk 
 
 Image copyright Getty Images Image caption A woman lays flowers near the scene of the attack 
 
 Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Forensic officers scour Parliament Square 
 
 Image copyright EPA Image caption A photo of PC Palmer is placed among floral tributes on Whitehall 
 
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 Have you been affected by recent events? If you are willing to do so, share with us by emailing haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk. 
 
 Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a BBC journalist. You can also contact us in the following ways: ||||| THREE brave schoolboys have been hailed as heroes after managing to stop a man from hanging himself from a high bridge. 
 
 The boys, Devonte Cafferkey-Wilson, Sami Farah and Shaun Young, all of Waltham Cross, Hertfordshire, did not hesitate when they spotted the troubled 21-year-old man on the wrong side of the bridge’s safety barrier with a rope round his neck and preparing to jump. 
 
 BPM Media Devonte Cafferkey-Wilson, Sami Farah and Shaun Young of Waltham Cross, Hertfordshire, saved the man's life in September last year 
 
 Aged 13, 14, and 12 at the time, the trio rushed to the barrier and managed to grab the man’s legs through the railings while Shaun ran to get a woman, Joanne Stammer, 47, who was passing by, to come and help. 
 
 She joined the other boys putting her arms through the barrier and round the man’s waist to pull him back. 
 
 Then James Higlett, 39, also of Waltham Cross, arrived at the scene and helped the others to hold the man who was struggling to get free until police and the fire service arrived to get him to safety. 
 
 The incident took place in September last year, and now the rescue heroes have all been awarded Royal Humane Society Certificates of Commendation. 
 
 BPM Media Joanne Stammers pictured here with her grandmother, was passing by when she was called to help by the boys 
 
 They were given the awards following a recommendation from Hertfordshire Police who have said the man would certainly have died but for the swift action taken. 
 
 Andrew Chapman, Secretary of the Royal Humane Society added his personal praise he announced the awards at the Society’s London headquarters he said: “There is no doubt that without the quick thinking and action of the three boys the man would have jumped and would have died. 
 
 “They were the right people in the right place at the right time and showed tremendous presence of mind in acting as they did particularly bearing in mind their ages. 
 
 “All too often these days we hear stories about misdeeds by youngsters. 
 
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 “If ever there was a story to balance up the bad ones this is it. These three excelled themselves. 
 
 “Their parents, their schools and everyone else should be incredibly proud of them. 
 
 “The two adults also played a major role in this harrowing incident and just like the boys, richly deserve the awards they are to receive.” 
 
 If you are affected by any of the issues raised in this article, please call the Samaritans on (free) 116123 or 020 7734 2800.
– A video of Rod Stewart pretending to behead a man kneeling in front of him on a sand dune in the Abu Dhabi desert sure gives the impression that he's imitating Islamic State executioners. Not so, according to Stewart. The 72-year-old singer says the video of him among a group on the dune—initially posted to Instagram by Stewart's wife but since deleted—actually shows him re-enacting a scene from Game of Thrones, per the Guardian. "From re-enacting the Beatles' Abbey Road crossing to spontaneously playing out Game of Thrones, we were simply larking about" before an Abu Dhabi show, the singer says in a statement. "Understandably, this has been misinterpreted and I send my deepest apologies to those who have been offended." Twitter users still say the act was "deeply stupid," per the Independent. That's nothing to how John McCarthy views it. The former hostage, kidnapped in Lebanon in the 1980s, tells the BBC Stewart turned "a grotesque thing into a kind of pantomime." But columnist Marina Hyde offers another viewpoint at the Guardian. After wondering why no one referenced Stewart's "the first cut is the deepest" lyrics, she encourages people to "remember that Rod is a chap who has added to the gaiety of various nations, which is infinitely more than can be said for the endless armies of halfwits taking offense on others' behalf," specifically reporters calling up relatives of ISIS victims to ask how much the video "offended them and shamed their dead beloved's memory."