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The bloodthirsty pair, together with two others, were nicknamed The Beatles because of their British accents. And they appalled the world with their atrocities in Syria as they beheaded hostages in brutal propaganda videos. Police initially had no idea who was committing the murders. But Scotland Yard chief Commander Richard Smith, yesterday revealed “a remarkable investigation” helped bring the “two very evil men to justice”.

Vital information was given by freed ISIS hostages that helped identify the gang who had kidnapped and tortured them.

One hostage had heard the men mention being arrested at a march organised by the far-right EDL in London. Investigators then discovered Kotey and Elsheikh had been detained while taking part in a counter-demonstration by the Muslims Against Crusades group.

They were arrested on suspicion of involvement in a stabbing in September 2011, but were released without charge.

Acting on the hostages’ statements, detectives reviewed data from Kotey and Eksheikh’s phones, which were seized at the time of their arrests – and showed various messages between the pair.

In a separate lead, in 2014, officers discovered pictures sent by Elsheikh – including one taken of him next to decapitated heads – on his brother’s phone.

They also found Elsheikh’s number saved on a phone belonging to Mohammed Emwazi, also known as Jihadi John.

He was the third ISIS Beatle who posed in a mask in videos of hostages being murdered. He was identified when police compared the horrifying footage to recordings of Emwazi being questioned over a series of bike thefts in 2012 and matched his voice.

Elsheikh and Kotey are now serving life sentences in America following an FBI operation that used recordings taken by the British police.

Commander Smith said the UK’s Attorney General had authorised 139 charges against the pair, including for conspiracy to murder, before they were convicted in the US. Kotey admitted involvement in the killing of four US citizens – journalists

James Foley and Steven Sotloff and aid workers Kayla Mueller and Peter Kassig. Elsheikh was found guilty following a trial.

Commander Smith said: “I would describe this as one of the most significant international terror cases we have ever seen brought to trial.”

He added: “The level of savagery …described by the hostages, who were held captive and subjected to physical assault, was truly shocking.

“This was a remarkable investigation where really determined and highly skilled officers and staff pieced together and unearthed tiny fragments of information, gathered from isolated events that occurred years earlier.

The sum of their parts was significant evidence which helped bring these men to justice.”

Jihadi John was killed in a 2015 drone strike in Syria.

Aine Davis, who is alleged to be the fourth ‘Beatle’ but denies it, was arrested on terror charges last week when he flew to the UK.

He had been serving a jail sentence in Turkey for being a member of the ISIS terror group.

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