A suspected terrorist accused of attacking police with a sword outside Buckingham Palace had originally intended to go to Windsor Castle – but his satnav led him to a pub of the same name instead.
Mohiussunnath Chowdhury, 26, sparked a major terror alert when he was arrested outside the royal residence last Friday.
The Uber driver was found with a samurai sword in the passenger footwell of the blue Toyota Prius he was driving.
He was sprayed with CS gas and wrestled to the ground as the palace was locked down. Three police officers suffered cuts and bruises to their hands.
But according to new reports, evidence taken from the scene appears to show Chowdhury had left his Luton home with Windsor Castle typed into his GPS.
Uber driver Mohiussunnath Chowdhury (pictured) has been charged with a terror offence after reportedly attacking police outside Buckingham Palace
According to a report, evidence taken from the scene appears to show Chowdhury had left his Luton home with Windsor Castle typed into his GPS – but he ended up at ‘The Windsor Castle’ pub. Pictured: What is believed to be the pub he was taken to in the Berkshire town
Chowdhury is believed to have driven to The Windsor Castle pub – south of the actual Windsor Castle. He then went past the Victoria barracks before heading to Buckingham Palace in London
He arrived in Windsor at about 7.30pm – having left an hour earlier – but his satnav had taken him to The Windsor Castle pub rather than the royal residence.
It is also reported that Chowdhury drove past the Victoria barracks in the town two minutes later, before ultimately setting off for London.
He then drove around the Mall – the road between Buckingham Palace and Trafalgar Square – in a loop until he stopped next to a police van and was soon arrested.
Yesterday, Chowdhury appeared before a district judge at Westminster magistrates’ court in London.
The British-born suspect, who is of Bangladeshi heritage, is accused of one charge of preparing terrorist acts, which carries a maximum life sentence.
Mark Carol, prosecuting, said a note to Chowdhury’s sister Sneha, 23, was found by detectives. It read: ‘To my dearest sister, By the time you read this Insha’Allah [God willing] I will be with Allah.
It has been reported that Chowdhury typed Windsor Castle (pictured) into his satnav but failed to find the royal residence. He is also said to have driven past the Victoria barracks in the town before he set off for London
He stopped just a few feet away from the police van when he is then alleged to have reached for the sword in the foot well of the car while shouting ‘Allahu Akhbar’
‘Do not cry and be strong. The Shaheed [witness or martyr] will take 70 members of his family with him to paradise. I will take you there Insha’Allah.
‘Tell everyone I love them and that they should struggle against the enemies of Allah …The Queen and her soldiers will all be in the hellfire, they go to war with Muslims around the world and kill them without any mercy.’
Chowdhury, flanked by two plainclothes officers in the reinforced glass dock, nodded as the note was read out. He spoke in soft, well-spoken English to confirm his personal details.
No members of the Royal Family were at Buckingham Palace when Chowdhury was arrested. The Queen was at Balmoral.
Footage from the scene showed a car parked near a police van, in the shadow of the Queen Victoria monument on Constitution Hill.
No members of the Royal Family were at Buckingham Palace when Chowdhury was arrested. The Queen was at Balmoral. Pictured: The scene outside the palace last Friday
Mohiussunnath Choudhury, 26 and from Luton, Bedfordshire, appeared before magistrates today and was remanded in custody
A large police cordon was put up at the far end of The Mall. Pictured in the distance is Buckingham Palace
Chowdhury (pictured), 26, allegedly drove his blue Toyota Prius in the direction of a police van on Constitution Hill on Friday night
Mr Carol said the car stopped 2ft from a marked police vehicle, arousing the officers’ attention. ‘Officers approached the vehicle and the male driver reached for a large sword from inside and shouted ‘Allahu Akhbar’ several times,’ he said. ‘The officer struggled with the individual and sprayed him with CS spray.’
Police seized mobile phones and a laptop from the £230,000 home Chowdhury shares with his parents and sister in a Luton suburb. They arrested a second man, aged 30, in west London, who was released without charge.
According to one online profile, Chowdhury’s sister is a graduate and a recruitment consultant.
The family’s former neighbours in Uxbridge, west London, said both siblings went to Church of England primary schools.
Chowdhury was remanded in custody and ordered to appear at the Old Bailey on September 21.
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