Woolwich murder: Government defends security services

The government has defended security services against criticism they missed signs which might have helped prevent the murder of a soldier in London.

The UK's security services face a Commons inquiry after it was confirmed the two men arrested over the murder of Drummer Lee Rigby were known to MI5.
But Communities Secretary Eric Pickles said it was impossible to control everyone all the time.
The suspects are known to be Michael Adebolajo and Michael Adebowale.
Mr Pickles told BBC Breakfast: "Peers and MPs will do a thorough investigation in terms of what the security forces knew but I've seen experts on security explaining how difficult it is in a free society to be able to control everyone."
Drummer Rigby, 25, was murdered on a street in Woolwich, south-east London on Wednesday afternoon.

A prayer service was held for Drummer Rigby in his home town 

Shortly after the killing, a man, thought to be 28-year-old Mr Adebolajo, was filmed by a passer-by, saying he had carried out the attack because British soldiers killed Muslims every day.
Armed police arrived on the scene 13 minutes after the first 999 call and shot the two suspected attackers, who had made no attempt to flee.
Footage of shooting More than 30 people have been attending a prayer service in Drummer Rigby's home town of Middleton, Greater Manchester on Friday morning. Residents on the Langley estate where he grew up are being urged to fly union jacks by community activists.
The former head of counter terrorism at MI6, Richard Barrett, told BBC Two's Newsnight programme how hard it could be to detect attacks of the type seen in Woolwich - despite the suspects having been known to MI5 for eight years.
"I assume that these people are probably coming out of a small group without, necessarily, any overseas connections or any other broader connections in the United Kingdom which could come to the attention of the security services more than they did," he said.
"When does a person who expresses radical views, who joins a radical group, flip over to be a violent extremist?
"To find the signals, the red flags as it were, I think is enormously hard."