A petrol bombing at a new British immigration border force centre was motivated by a terrorist ideology, police say.
A man threw three petrol bombs with fireworks attached, one of which did not go off, at the building in Dover, Kent last Sunday.
The petrol bombs exploded as flames erupted and the man drove away from the scene. He was since found dead at a petrol station in the port town.
Counter Terrorism Policing South East (CTPSE), which has been working alongside Kent Constabulary, have spoken to a number of witnesses and now believe "extreme right wing motivation" was behind the attack. It therefore has been classed as a "terrorist incident".
Tim Jacques, Senior National Coordinator for CTPSE, said: "This was clearly a very worrying incident and although nobody was seriously hurt, two people did sustain minor injuries.
"Increasingly in counter terrorism casework, across all ideologies, we are seeing individuals who have mental health concerns and a hateful mind-set.
"Assessing when this crosses the terrorism threshold is a complex process and needs to be carefully considered on a case-by-case basis. These decisions need to be determined by the facts, as far as they can be established at any given time.
"After considering the evidence collected so far in this case, whilst there are strong indications that mental health was likely a factor, I am satisfied that the suspect’s actions were primarily driven by an extremist ideology. This meets the threshold for a terrorist incident."
A number of items of interest have been recovered from the scene, including digital media devices.
These have been used in the investigation, which police say is still ongoing.
But the forces say there is nothing to suggest the offender was working alongside anyone else and there is not believed to be any wider threat to the public.
The deceased suspect, since named as 66-year-old Andrew Leak, was "very quickly located" after the bombing.
A report since suggested the man was a suspected paedophile.
Leak, from High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire shared a number of grim, racist social media posts.
In them Leak complained about "people getting benefits [who] cannot speak English" and repeated untrue and vile claims against asylum seekers.
In another sickening post he made racist accusations about Muslims and wrote: "what the f*** is going on in this country".
Gary Smith, a 31-year-old witness, claimed the suspect was laughing as he flung the bombs from a white Seat four-wheel drive vehicle. Two people who were inside the building suffered minor injuries.
Mr Smith said: "I was walking over a nearby bridge and I could see him throwing the bombs. They were making loud bangs. I think he threw about four or five.
"He was just laughing while he was doing it. It was crazy. I can't believe what happened afterwards too at the petrol station. I feel sick."
