Westminster crash: Salih Khater jailed for life over terror attack outside parliament

A man who ploughed his car into cyclists outside the Houses of Parliament has been jailed for life committing a terror attack, despite investigators finding no evidence of extremism.

Salih Khater, 30, claimed the crash in August 2018 was an accident after he got lost on the way to a London embassy.

Police found no evidence of any links to terrorist groups, or any extremist material at Khater’s home or on his electronic devices.

But prosecutors argued that the crash was “premeditated and deliberate”, and that the fact Khater drove towards police officers outside parliament indicated it was a terror attack.

His defence lawyer, Peter Carter QC, argued that his conviction for attempted murder could not be found to have a terrorist connection.

He told a judge at the Old Bailey: “Had there been any evidence of any link between this man and a terrorist organisation or terrorist individual, or had there been any connection that he had expressed any interest in or showed any desire to pursue any link to terrorism it would have been before your ladyship.

“There is not. The lack of evidence is not a proper basis for drawing a conclusion there is evidence of a terrorist connection.”

But Mrs Justice McGowan found Khater had deliberately copied other terrorists as she jailed him on Monday for life with a minimum term of 15 years.

“Your undoubted intention was to kill as many people as possible and by doing so spread fear and terror,” she said. ”You replicated the acts of others who undoubtedly have acted with terrorist motives. You deliberately copied those others.”

The crash followed the Westminster attack in March 2017, when Islamist Khalid Masood killed four victims with a car on Westminster Bridge before stabbing a police officer to death outside parliament.

Vehicles were also used in the Isis-inspired London Bridge attack and far-right Finsbury Park attack, both in June 2017.

"It was an attack on strangers and police officers at the seat of democracy in this country.

"You are dangerous in that you present a significant risk of causing serious harm to the public in the future.

"Even acting alone, you acted for a terrorist purpose. All the evidence is consistent with that conclusion.”

The court was played footage of Khater ploughing his Ford Fiesta through a group of cyclists waiting at a traffic light, before swerving towards a barrier manned by uniformed police officers at 30mph.

They dived out of the car’s path as it accelerated towards them, while injured cyclists lay scattered in the road screaming in pain. Several needed hospital treatment.

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