London man planned suicide attack to kill the PM, court hears

Police arrested a 20-year old Londoner days before he intended to carry out a suicide attack on Downing Street to kill the prime minister, a court has heard.

Naa’imur Zakariyah Rahman believed he was corresponding online with Islamic State while planning the alleged attack but was in fact in talking to members of the security services pretending to be from the terror group, the Old Bailey was told.

The British-Bangladeshi, who is charged with preparing acts of terrorism, was arrested on 2 November and is on trial alongside another man, 21-year-old Mohammad Aqib Imran, who is accused of planning to travel abroad either to Libya or Syria in order to to engage in terrorism. Both men deny the charges.

The first day of their trial heard that Rahman had been in contact with an uncle who had travelled to Syria and joined Isis and who had encouraged his nephew to carry out attacks in Britain. Rahman’s resolve to do something hardened over time and he was “tipped over” into doing so when he heard his uncle had been killed in a drone strike.

Details of conversations between Rahman and security service operatives playing the role of Isis members were read out to the jury. In them, Rahman said the uncle had sent him a video about bomb making but he had difficulties downloading it.

“We plotted attacks before he was droned,” Rahman said, indicating that the nascent idea was to use a drone in the UK. “We were going to do a drone attack first but he told me that we didn’t have the time.”

Mark Heywood QC, prosecuting, said the evidence would show how Rahman had put together a plan to attack Downing Street, carrying out reconnaissance and perfecting details.

Heywood read out a Telegram chat in which Rahman was allegedly snared by a fake Isis member.

On 14 September last year, Rahman said: “Can you put me in a sleeper cell ASAP? I want to do a suicide bomb on parliament. I want to attempt to kill Theresa May.”

The next day, he said: “My objective is to take out my target. Nothing less than the death of the leaders of parliament.”

The court heard Rahman went on to praise the Manchester arena bomber, saying he “did well”.

He allegedly said he thought about wearing “a vest”, driving past parliament and “pushing the button” to “clear the entire block”.

Jurors heard he said: “Everyone inside, including the prime minister, would be dead.”

Rahman talked about the MI5 building but allegedly said: “Getting outside parliament when all the leaders are there is simple, you can walk right outside.”

Rahman is accused of conducting reconnaissance, recording a pledge of allegiance, and delivering a rucksack and jacket to be fitted with explosives.

The court was told that the 20-year-old, who was said to have family in the West Midlands but was living at various times in London, had been known to the Channel programme, a government project that seeks to intervene in the cases of individuals thought to be at risk of violent radicalisation.

By the time of the events covered in the hearing for late last year, however, he had started a “total withdrawal” from the programme, said Heywood. “He had no intention of avoiding radicalisation. He was heading far as he he could in the opposite direction.”

Heywood told the court that at the heart of the case was a developing radicalisation in the minds of two young men who knew each other well. “The case is that their shared inspiration, from the warped ideology of the group calling itself Islamic State, led them beyond contemplation and in to making plans and taking practical steps to engage in violent acts of terrorism,” he said.

The trial continues.