Two men suspected of planning an Islamist suicide bomb plot to assassinate the Prime Minister have arrived at court.
Naa’imur Zakariyah Rahman, 20, and Mohammed Aqib Imran, 21, were driven into Westminster Magistrates’ Court in a security van this morning after being charged with planning terror attacks.
Investigators suspect the pair wanted to detonate a bomb disguised as a bag in Whitehall before using a suicide vest, pepper spray and knife to attempt to kill Theresa May.
Two men accused of planning a terror attack on 10 Downing Street have arrived at court
The security services believe they have stopped an Islamist suicide bomb plot to assassinate the Prime Minister. She is pictured in Number 10 yesterday
Rahman, 20, from north London, is accused of planning to bomb Downing Street’s security gates and then attack the Prime Minister in the ensuing chaos.
He was allegedly caught with two IEDs when police swooped in west London last week.
He has been charged with preparing acts of terrorism and will appear in court alongside Mohammed Aqib Imran, 21, who is accused of trying to join Islamic State.
Details of the assassination plot were reportedly given to the Cabinet on Tuesday by head of MI5 Andrew Parker in a briefing in which he revealed that a total of nine Islamist terrorist plots have been thwarted in the UK over the past year.
The Metropolitan Police would only say that Rahman, 20, and Imran, 21, were due to appear in custody at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday charged with planning terror attacks.
Rahman, from north London, is also charged with assisting Imran in terror planning, while Imran, from south-east Birmingham, is charged with preparing acts of terrorism.
The street, pictured this morning, is guarded by armed police and two sets of metal gates
The head of MI5, Andrew Parker, yesterday briefed Cabinet ministers on the unprecedented terrorist threat facing the country (file photo)
Mr Parker’s Cabinet briefing came on the same day that a review of a string of UK terror attacks earlier this year revealed that the Manchester Arena bomber was known to MI5 and his attack, in which 22 people died, might have been stopped ‘had the cards fallen differently’.
The alleged conspiracy was foiled after a joint operation by Scotland Yard, West Midlands Police and MI5. Security chiefs stepped in amid fears the men were preparing to launch an attack, arresting them at gunpoint.
The alleged plot highlights the extreme threat still faced by the UK in a year blighted by terrorist atrocities which claimed 36 lives.
The security service and police have thwarted 22 terrorist plots in the past four years and there are more than 500 live investigations ongoing.
Police chiefs are struggling to handle more than 3,000 subjects of interest, along with a growing pool of more than 20,000 individuals identified during terrorist inquiries.
Two Muslim men are suspected of conspiring to attack Downing Street armed with an improvised bomb, suicide vest and knives
The festive season has seen some events, particularly Christmas markets and high-profile events, taking extreme precautions. Police fear a lone-wolf extremist could mount a ‘copycat’ attack similar to that on Berlin’s Breitscheidplatz Christmas market last year.
The head of MI5, Andrew Parker, yesterday briefed Cabinet ministers on the unprecedented terrorist threat facing the country.
Mr Parker has said the threat facing the UK was at the ‘highest tempo’ seen in his 34-year career.
The Prime Minister’s spokesman said: ‘Mr Parker said that nine terrorist attacks had been prevented in the past year. There have been five attacks that got through, four of which are related to Islamist terrorism.’ Mrs May thanked Mr Parker and MI5 for their ‘tireless work’ tackling terrorism.
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