Man found guilty of planning terror attack on St James's Hospital

A man's been found guilty of planning a terror attack on St James's hospital in Leeds and an RAF base near Harrogate.

Mohammed Farooq, 28, was arrested with a home-made pressure cooker bomb outside the Gledhow Wing in the early hours of 20th January last year.

Prosecutors told a jury at Sheffield Crown Court that Farooq was a ‘self-radicalised lone wolf terrorist’ who planned to ‘kill as many nurses as possible’ by detonating the explosive, which he had modelled on the one used in the Boston Marathon attack in 2013.

Jurors were told he then aimed to kill as many people as possible with knives before using an imitation firearm to incite police to shoot him dead.

Prosecutor Jonathan Sandiford KC said Farooq had become self-radicalised by immersing himself in extremist material online.

His first plan had been to attack RAF Menwith Hill, a spy base near Harrogate which is operated by US and UK staff, and he had made at least two visits to the site in the 10 days leading up to his arrest.

Prosecutors say he then moved onto his ‘Plan B’ after judging the hospital to be a ‘softer and less well-protected target’.

Farooq had been employed as a clinical support worker there and Mr Sandiford said his "secondary motive" was a grievance against some of his former colleagues.

The court heard how he was talked out of detonating the bomb by patient Nathan Newby, who was smoking outside the hospital when he noticed Farooq and got talking to him because he thought ‘something was amiss’.

“That simple act of kindness almost certainly saved many lives that night because, as the defendant was later to tell the police officers who arrested him, Mr Newby succeeded in 'talking him down',” said Mr Sandiford.

Farooq told Mr Newby about his plan to take the bomb into the hospital and "kill as many nurses as possible".

Mr Newby kept him talking and eventually persuaded him to move away from the main entrance to a bench to get the bomb further away from the hospital.

Farooq then handed over his phone so that Mr Newby could ring the police, with jurors being played the 999 call.

Armed officers arrested Farooq and found the ‘viable’ bomb.

They also found two knives, black tape and a blank-firing imitation firearm in his possession.

Faroooq admitted intending to attack St James Hospital but denied intending to attack the RAF base.

The defence said he was not radicalised and argued that his actions were due to a "deep rooted yet unjustifiable anger and grievance towards those he worked with".

Farooq denied preparing acts of terrorism but had already pleaded guilty to firearms offences and possessing an explosive substance with intent.

He also pleaded guilty to having a document likely to be useful to a person preparing or committing an act of terrorism.