Liverpool taxi bomber Emad Al Swealmeen made a legal attempt to stay in the UK but his appeal was rejected without a hearing in court. Rumours had circulated that Al Swealmeen had his case for asylum rejected in 2014, and late on Tuesday the BBC confirme

Liverpool taxi bomber Emad Al Swealmeen made a legal attempt to stay in the UK but his appeal was rejected without a hearing in court. Rumours had circulated that Al Swealmeen had his case for asylum rejected in 2014, and late on Tuesday the BBC confirmed it.

The national court that reviews UK Home Office decisions said it had delivered the verdict that there were no grounds for appeal. This decision is thought to have been made in 2017.

After the lost appeal, Al Swealmeen, who was a Christian convert, was taken in by devout couple Malcolm and Elizabeth Hitchcott.

Mr Hitchcott said on Tuesday that Al Swealmeen first contacted the couple after his asylum appeal was dismissed and was "desperate" for somewhere to stay.

"[Al Swealmeen] arrived here on April 1, 2017," he told BBC Radio Merseyside. "He was with us then for eight months, and during that time we saw him really blossoming in regards to his Christian faith.

"He really had a passion about Jesus that I wish many Christians had, and he was ready to learn."He was keen on reading his Bible and every night we used to pray – my wife and him, and if there was anybody else in the house. "We prayed for half an hour or so and studied the scriptures. We had a great time together.

"He was absolutely genuine, as far as I could tell. When you live with somebody in a small terraced house ... you learn an awful lot about people and how their habits are, how they relate to one another, the things they think about – it's a good assessing ground. "I was in no doubt by the time that he left us at the end of that eight months that he was a Christian."

Al Swealmeen, 32, died in the blast in a taxi outside Liverpool Women's Hospital shortly before 11am on Remembrance Sunday. Taxi driver David Perry escaped the vehicle and has since been discharged from hospital.

Mr Hitchcott said motor-racing fan Al Swealmeen changed his name to Enzo Almeni, after the renowned motorsport figure Enzo Ferrari, to shorten it and "make it more European", and "not for any ulterior motive". Describing the moment he found out what had happened, he told the BBC he was "absolutely stunned". "Here was a chap who was very calm, measured, very deep thinking, but a lovely man with it," Mr Hitchcott said.

"I only saw him lose his temper once, which is when he thought I was tampering with his mail, but he apologised for that fairly soon afterwards.

"He was a lovely fella. You would say he wouldn't harm a fly, but he is the sort of chap who considers things deeply first ... he was a pleasure to be with."

Mr Hitchcott said he had not spoken to Al Swealmeen in four years and there may have been "changes in his personality and his beliefs" during that time.

Al Swealmeen went off grid in 2017
An asylum seeker charity also described intermittently helping Al Swealmeen since 2014. "We kind of lost sight of him around 2017," Ewan Roberts, centre manager at Asylum Link, told Sky News.

"[Al Swealmeen asked] not for unusual things, not for strange things; things people normally ask for in the asylum system – clothing, help with support and help to find a solicitor."

Al Swealmeen tried to lodge an appeal with the Upper Tribunal of the Immigration and Asylum Chamber after he lost his asylum claim, and an appeal against the decision in a lower court, the BBC reported.

But this attempted appeal was refused without it ever going to a full hearing. It is not known whether he was warned he would be removed from the UK. The Home Office said it did not comment on individual cases.

Counter-terror police make two London arrests
The incident has been declared a terrorist attack and the UK terrorism threat level has since been raised from substantial to severe, meaning an attack is "highly likely" rather than "likely".

Under this new level, two young men were arrested in west London on Tuesday by the Met's Counter-Terrorism Command unit.

The force said the two, aged 19 and 21, were detained on Tuesday morning and were being held in custody while officers continued to search addresses in the area.

Commander Richard Smith of the Counter Terrorism Command said police did not believe there was an immediate threat to the wider public, and urged anyone who may have seen suspicious activity to report it.

"Based on inquiries by detectives so far, there was not believed to be any immediate threat posed to the public, and those arrested remain in custody," Mr Smith said.

"We are all aware that the UK national threat level has been raised from substantial to severe following events in Merseyside and we need to work together to defeat terrorism.

"The public, as always, are our eyes and ears and nothing should stop you from reporting suspicions to the police.

"Every day, teams within the Met and across Counter Terrorism policing nationally proactively investigate, identify and target those we suspect of being involved in terrorism.

"If you see or hear something in the course of your everyday life that doesn't seem right, please trust your instincts and report it, as your information could be the key to stopping terrorist activity." The arrests were not linked to the Liverpool Women's Hospital blast, police said.