‘Paranoid’ asylum seeker, 30, appears in court accused of attempted terror attack

This is the moment a ‘paranoid’ asylum seeker deliberately rammed cyclists and police outside the Houses of Parliament after emailing Jeremy Corbyn to complain about the ‘intelligence service’, the Old Bailey heard today. 

Salih Khater, 30, is accused of driving at police officers guarding the side entrance of the Palace of Westminster in a deliberate bid ‘to cause maximum death and injury’ during the alleged terror attack on August 14 last year.

Prosecutor Alison Morgan QC told the court that Khater intended to ‘kill as many people as possible’. 

Opening his trial, she said: ‘On August 14 2018, Salih Khater carried out a premeditated and deliberate attack on civilians and police officers in Parliament Square. His weapon was not a gun or a knife but his car.

‘First, he drove at cyclists waiting at traffic lights. Then he drove at police officers who were guarding the side entrance to the Palace of Westminster.

‘His actions were not a mistake or as a result of some kind of mechanical error to his vehicle. They were deliberate and designed to cause maximum death and injury.’

She added: ‘He caused widespread fear and chaos but miraculously, and contrary to his intentions, he did not kill anyone that day.

‘Those who were faced with a vehicle being driven at them at high velocity somehow, and largely by their quick responses, managed to avoid death or very serious injury.’

Footage taken from CCTV of the moment Salih Khater, 30, allegedly drove a silver Ford Fiesta at cyclists before crashing into barriers as two uniformed police officers dived out of the way, outside the Houses of Parliament

Khater at Westminster Magistrates Court where he appeared before his Old Bailey trial 

Salih Khater leaving the Passport Office in Peterborough where he applied for a fast-track UK passport the day before he allegedly carried out a terrorist attack outside the Houses of Parliament

Ms Morgan told jurors Khater’s reason for the attack was unclear.

But she suggested that by targeting officers guarding the Palace of Westminster the defendant had a ‘terrorist motive’.

She added: ‘Using his car in the way that he did, driving in the manner and direction he did, the prosecution allege that it is obvious that he intended to kill as many people as possible.’

Jurors were shown CCTV footage of the defendant’s silver Ford Fiesta driving at cyclists before crashing into barriers as two uniformed police officers ‘miraculously’ dived out of the way.

Khater drove his Ford Fiesta down from his home in Birmingham the night before, driving around Parliament Square to scout out his alleged target in the early hours of 14 August last year. 

Evidence from phone records show Khater had also searched for Number 10 Downing Street in the hours before the attack.

The court heard how Khater was born in Sudan and was granted asylum in Britain in 2010, after claiming he had been tortured over his association with a political group called the Justice and Equality Movement.

In the months before the attack, the defendant’s mood changed and he showed signs of ‘paranoia’ about British authorities, it was claimed.

He had failed his accountancy exams at the University of Coventry and his work as a security guard had dried up, it was said.

On May 24 last year, he emailed Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn to express concern about an ‘event’ involving the intelligence service, saying he was going to complain to police as well, the court heard.

 Prosecutor Alison Morgan QC told the court that Khater intended to ‘kill as many people as possible’ outside Parliament (pictured) 

Ms Morgan said: ‘There is no record of any such complaint being made. The response from a Labour Party representative was understandably vague.’

The court heard the email response thanked Khater for his email to Mr Corbyn and stated: ‘We are sorry to hear about your personal issue.’

The Sudanese-born defendant, of Birmingham, has denied two counts of attempted murder and two alternative charges of attempting to cause grievous bodily harm.

The trial continues.