Petrol bomber who attacked migrant centre warned ‘if you’re not ready, you won’t survive what’s coming’ before he struck

A PETROL bomber who attacked a migrant centre declared “If you’re not ready, you will not survive what is coming” before he struck.

Andrew Leak, 66, who killed himself after hurling the crude devices, is now being investigated by terror police over fears he was a right-wing extremist.

It emerged yesterday that Leak, who told neighbours he had been in the Army and served in Northern Ireland, made foul rants online about migrants and shared posts from extremist websites in the months before the attack.

He was also pictured wearing a collection of sinister masks in Facebook photos.

Leak travelled 120 miles from his retirement flat in Wooburn Green, Bucks, to Dover, Kent, to commit the crime, believed to have been fuelled by a “hate-filled grievance”.

Counter Terrorism Police are now leading the investigation into Sunday’s bombing, during which two staff members suffered minor injuries.

A number of “digital media devices” from his flat are being searched.
Leak, who referred to himself online as a “bad boy from Woolwich”, was known to the police and is thought to have had severe mental health issues.

He had battled cancer four years ago and told friends his penis was removed to stop the disease spreading.

Neighbours told The Sun he would rarely leave his flat and was known to drink and smoke a lot of cannabis.

They said he was often “ranting and raving” and recently disappeared for days to a nearby cemetery after telling pals he was “losing it”.

On a now-deleted Twitter page, he wrote: “It’s coming, get ready. If you’re not ready you will not survive what is coming, you have been warned. Stand your ground.”

Other social media posts included paranoid theories on the Covid vaccine and suggestions the World Economic Forum was connected to Nazism.

He also posted memes about Batman villain the Joker, and ranted about “thousands of people getting benefits [who] cannot speak English”.

Leak referenced far-right activist Stephen Lennon, known as Tommy Robinson, and repeatedly wrote about Muslim “grooming gangs”.

Leak’s neighbour Alan Abbott, a bus driver and vicar, told The Sun he was last seen leaving the housing complex at 7.30am on Saturday.

He is believed to have carried out a recce at the Western Jet Foil site before returning on Sunday morning to throw his petrol bombs.

Leak suffered from rheumatoid arthritis and walked with a stick.

Mr Abbott said: “Last Wednesday we all sat around having a bottle of wine and he seemed absolutely normal. He gave nothing away.

“Recently he complained his benefits halved when he turned 66 and was telling people he was going to have to start selling his clothes and his TV.

“He used to have a mobility scooter, but he couldn’t afford the insurance so he had to get rid of it.

“His son died around two years ago, which he really struggled with.

“Andy was dyslexic and couldn’t read or write properly, but he was always wandering around singing Genesis with his headphones on.

“He had mental health issues and had these attacks where he would be ranting and raving in the flat. He would get worked up.”

Det Chief Supt Olly Wright, head of Counter Terrorism Policing South East, said: “What appears clear is this offence was targeted and likely to be driven by some form of hate-filled grievance, though this may not necessarily meet the threshold of terrorism.

“At this point, the incident itself has not been declared a terrorist incident.”

Joe Mulhall, director of research at Hope Not Hate said: “We know far-right rhetoric can lead to violence and this appears to be another case.

“Andrew Leak’s social media presence reveals a series of worrying posts including support for far-right groups and racist conspiracy theories.”