A hostage taker who was shot dead had ‘no intention of being taken alive'.

Malik Faisal Akram, known as Faisal Akram, 44, died following an 11-hour stand-off at Congregation Beth Israel on Saturday.

One hostage was released and three others got out which led to the FBI Swat team entering the building.

Two men have been arrested in Birmingham and Manchester today as part of the investigation.

The FBI in Dallas have said there was nothing to suggest a wider terror plot. It is understood this remains the case and the latest arrests are not as a result of concerns over a broader threat to the public.

Two teenagers arrested in Manchester following the incident were released without charge on Tuesday.

In the traumatic conversation as reported on Monday and aired today his brother Gulbar can be heard talking to his brother calmly urging him to think of his family.

The 11 minute audio recording begins with Gulbar trying to find out what his brother is doing.

Akram responds by saying, ‘I have four beautiful Jewish people with me’ and then goes on to lists his grievances towards America accusing it of wanting to 'wage war’.

Akram’s further replies include his request to die a martyr, as well as some expletive-laden and rambling attempting to justify his actions.

Gulbar can be heard saying: “You don’t need to do this, whatever you’re doing, man.

“Just pack it in, you’ll get a bit of time and you’ll come out.

“Think about your kids, man, these guys are innocent – these guys you’ve got there are innocent people, man.”

Akram was investigated by MI5 in 2020 but deemed not to be a credible threat to national security at the time, official sources confirmed to the PA news agency.

It is not yet clear how Akram, who had a criminal record in the UK, was able to travel to the US two weeks ago. US officials believe Akram had a visa, arrived at John F Kennedy International Airport in New York and bought the handgun used in the incident.

It was a question raised on Monday when Gulbar in an interview asked how his brother had managed to get out of the country so easily despite being a person of concern.

He said: “My brother was not a planner and never has been. A guy from Blackburn gets on a plane and doesn’t get questioned. He is also anti-vax. How did he get a visa?

“If my brother never had mental health issues he would never have been involved in this. He should have been helped.

“He would never admit that he had mental health issues. It let him down over the years.”

Gulbar said the family wanted a full investigation into what happened, “We want to be part of the investigation and help as much as we can. We want nothing to be left out and nothing hidden from us."