Driver guilty of terror attack outside Parliament
From the Telegraph and Sky News
A student has been found guilty of trying to kill cyclists and police officers outside the Houses of Parliament. Salih Khater, 30, ploughed his Ford Fiesta into a pedestrian and a group of cyclists who had stopped at a red light in Parliament Square on August 14 last year. He then careered into a security lane and crashed into barriers as two police officers jumped out of the way.
A jury at the Old Bailey, in central London, reached its verdict following a trial in which the prosecution claimed Khater intended to “kill as many people as possible” in a “premeditated and deliberate attack”.
The court was told Khater’s reason for the attack was unclear, but the prosecution added – by targeting officers guarding the Houses of Parliament – he had a “terrorist motive”.
Evidence from his mobile phone showed he had looked up maps for 10 Downing Street and Westminster on the internet as potential “deliberate targets”. CCTV captured Khater arriving in Parliament Square just before 1am and driving around Westminster, checking the layout for the attack five or six hours later.
Giving evidence, Khater said he wanted to return to Sudan to visit his sick mother and had Googled Downing Street and Westminster in his bid to find his way around central London. He told jurors he “got lost” and “panicked” when he collided into cyclists and was trying to pull over when he crashed into barriers in the security lane.
He was remanded into custody to be sentenced on 7 October, with a judge ordering pre-sentence reports to help determine the potential danger Khater poses.