Isis fanatic who called for attacks on Prince George admits terror offences

An Isis supporter who called for fellow fanatics to attack Prince George has unexpectedly changed his plea mid-way through his trial and admitted charges of terrorism.

Husnain Rashid had so far maintained his innocence during the first two weeks in the dock at Woolwich Crown Court.

The 32-year-old of Nelson, Lancashire, posted the address of the young prince’s school in Battersea, South London, on an encrypted forum, and used a group chat to encourage attacks against the four-year-old royal.

He also posted suggestions of which British football stadiums terrorists could strike, following the deadly attack outside Besiktas’s ground in Turkey, his trial previously heard.

Nearly two weeks into his trial, the defendant was re-indicted and pleaded guilty to three counts of engaging in conduct in preparation of terrorist acts and one count of encouraging terrorism.

The charges covered offences spanning from October 2016 to April this year.

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Rashid is said to have had a map of Sixth Avenue in New York and a message stating ‘New York Halloween Parade. Have you made you preparations? The Countdown begins’.

He is accused of writing a post urging people to ‘fight and spill the blood to the apes in your land’, with a message stating ‘start planning, start scouting targets, start monitoring enyr/exit routes, start preparing tools and weapons/explosives’.

He also allegedly messaged people he believed to be in IS territory, sought advice on routes to travel to Syria and Turkey, bought equipment and looked for a recommendation to join IS.

Among the other allegations is that he posted a photograph of the Burmese ambassador to the United Kingdom with the address of the Burmese embassy, saying ‘you know what to do’.

He was arrested at his home in November.