A couple who previously lived with the suspect in the Liverpool Remembrance Sunday bomb attack have expressed their shock at what happened.

Emad Al Swealmeen was described as having been a “lovely guy” who was “very quiet” by the Christian volunteers who had taken him in to their home for eight months.

Various interviews with Malcolm and Elizabeth Hitchcott reveal their surprise at someone who had converted to Christianity and appearing to have been “deeply moved by faith in Jesus” having committed such an act.

The 32-year-old had been refused asylum in 2014, according to Mr Hitchcott.

He told The Sun newspaper: “He had his case rejected because he has been sectioned due to some mental health incident where he was waving a knife at people from an overpass.”

It was August 2015 when he came to Liverpool’s Anglican Cathedral, he “wanted to convert to Christianity”, Mr Hitchcott added.

Al Swealmeen is said to have converted from Islam and been confirmed as Christian just before he went to live with the couple.

Mr Hitchcott described him as “destitute” when they took him in, adding: “The UK asylum people were never convinced he was Syrian and he was refused asylum in 2014.”

Al Swealmeen was a Jordanian national who had spent part of his life in Iraq, where his mother was from, The Sun said.

Mr Hitchcott described him as “well-mannered and quiet” according to The Times, while his wife said they “loved him”.

He was artistic, had done a cake decorating class and loved motor racing, they said, and it was also widely reported he had changed his first name to Enzo in tribute to the renowned driver Enzo Ferrari.

The Mail carried a picture of Al Swealmeen in a chef’s hat with a pizza and quoted Mrs Hitchcott as saying: “He was fairly private but very industrious.

“He loved to draw, he was very interested in art and could cook a mean pizza.”

Counter-Terrorism Police North West said Al Swealmeen was connected to addresses in both Rutland Avenue and Sutcliffe Street in Liverpool.

In an update on Monday, they said: “We believe he lived at the Sutcliffe Street address for some time and had recently rented the Rutland Avenue address.

“Our focus is the Rutland Avenue address where we have continued to recover significant items.”

Appealing for information, they said: “Now that we have released his name, any information that the public may have about Al Swealmeen no matter how small may be of great assistance to us.”