Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Former Uber driver jailed for life after plotting terror rampage at London tourist sites 

A FORMER Uber driver cleared of planning a terror attack at Buckingham Palace was on Thursday jailed for life after plotting a gun and knife rampage at London tourist sites.

Mohiussunnath Chowdhury was found guilty in February of planning to target popular attractions, including the annual Gay Pride march last year using a gun, knife and van.


The 29-year-old was arrested before he could carry out the attack after he unknowingly revealed his plans to undercover police.

Covert officers posing as like-minded extremists befriended and monitored Chowdhury after a jury cleared him in December 2018 of slashing police with a sword outside Queen Elizabeth II's London residence.

Chowdhury, from Luton, north of London, had shouted "Allahu Akbar" (God is greater) during the incident, but convinced jurors he only wanted to be killed by police and had no intention to hurt anyone.

However, little more than a year later a separate subsequent trial found Chowdhury guilty of the new terror plans, after hearing he was driven by "dreams of martyrdom".

He began posting extremist messages online within a week of his release from prison, and bragged to undercover officers about deceiving the jury which had cleared him.

During a five-month surveillance operation, officers learned he was planning to attack attractions including the Madame Tussauds waxwork museum, an open-top sightseeing bus as well as the London Pride event.

He was arrested three days before the parade last year and sentenced at Woolwich Crown Court in southeast London.

The court heard how Chowdhury confided his aspirations to men he thought were his "friends", but who actually were "brave covert officers".

He told them he was considering targeting crowded central London tourist attractions and the Pride event, and sought advice on obtaining a gun from a covert officer using the name 'Mikael'.

Chowdhury disclosed to the covert officers that he had intended to kill soldiers, but succeeded in "deceiving" the jury that earlier found him not guilty.

He went on to even discuss a dream he had --  carrying out an attack on an open-top bus with a prison inmate -- which police believed was something Chowdhury was planning to do.

Officers also recorded him at home telling his sister, Sneha Chowdhury, that he was "doing another attack", and asking her for help to "practise stabbing people" – alarming information which she did not report to police.

Jailing for him life, with a minimum term of 25 years, judge Andrew Lees said he was satisfied Chowdhury was "dangerous" and posed "a significant risk to members of the public of serious harm".

"The danger that you present is ongoing, it's not possible to say when that danger will abate," he added.

Sneha, 25, also of Luton, who kept her brother’s plans secret, will be sentenced for failing to disclose information regarding terrorist activity on a date yet to be set.

Following sentencing, Commander Richard Smith, head of the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command, said: "Mohiussunnath Chowdhury posed a very real threat to the lives of innocent people. The investigation team arrested him after gathering enough hard evidence to prove what he was planning to a jury, but before he could cause actual harm.

Thanks to counter terrorism police and our partner agencies, Chowdhury is now in prison, rather than seeing his terrorist attack plan through.

"As the lockdown restrictions ease and more public spaces reopen, we need everyone to play their part in keeping London safe, so I urge anyone who sees something suspicious to report it to the police."

More For You

Parliament backs assisted dying in historic law shift

Supporters of the assisted dying law for terminally ill people hold a banner, on the day British lawmakers are preparing to vote on the bill, in London, Britain, June 20, 2025. REUTERS/Isabel Infantes

Parliament backs assisted dying in historic law shift

PARLIAMENT voted on Friday (20) in favour of a bill to legalise assisted dying, paving the way for the country's biggest social change in a generation.

314 lawmakers voted in favour with 291 against the bill, clearing its biggest parliamentary hurdle.

Keep ReadingShow less
Air India

An Air India Airbus A320-200 aircraft takes off from the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport in Ahmedabad, India, July 7, 2017. Picture taken July 7, 2017.

Regulator warns Air India over delayed emergency equipment checks: Report

INDIA’s aviation regulator has warned Air India for violating safety rules after three of its Airbus aircraft operated flights without undergoing mandatory checks on emergency escape slides, according to official documents reviewed by Reuters.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) issued warning notices and a detailed investigation report highlighting the breach. These documents were sent days before the recent crash of an Air India Boeing 787-8, in which all but one of the 242 people onboard were killed. The Airbus incidents are unrelated to that crash.

Keep ReadingShow less
assisted dying bill

Pro and anti-assisted dying campaigners protest ahead of a parliamentary decision later today, on June 20, 2025 in London.

Getty Images

MPs to vote on assisted dying bill amid divided views

UK MPs are set to hold a key vote on assisted dying on Friday, which could either advance or halt a proposed law that would allow terminally ill adults to end their lives under strict conditions.

The vote follows several hours of debate in the House of Commons and will decide whether the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill moves to the House of Lords for further scrutiny or is dropped altogether.

Keep ReadingShow less
Air India cuts international flights after deadly crash

Mother (C) of First Officer Clive Kunder, co-pilot of the Air India plane that crashed in Ahmedabad last week, mourns after his mortal remains were brought to his residence, in Mumbai. (PTI Photo)

Air India cuts international flights after deadly crash

AIR INDIA said on Wednesday (18) it will cut international operations on its widebody aircraft by 15 per cent for the next few weeks, citing ongoing safety inspections and operational disruptions following last week's deadly crash of one of its Boeing 787 Dreamliners.

Authorities continue to investigate the crash of flight AI171, which killed 241 people and marked the world's deadliest aviation disaster in a decade.

Keep ReadingShow less
Air India crash victims

Family members and relatives of Megha Mehta, who died in the Air India plane crash, during her funeral at a crematorium, in Ahmedabad, Sunday, June 15, 2025.

Getty Images

Air India crash: 220 victims identified, 202 bodies returned to families

MORE than a week after an Air India flight crashed in Ahmedabad, 220 victims have been identified through DNA testing and the remains of 202 of them handed over to their families, Gujarat health minister Rushikesh Patel said on Friday.

The London-bound Air India flight AI-171 was carrying 242 passengers and crew when it crashed on June 12, killing all but one person on board. Nearly 29 others were killed on the ground when the aircraft hit a medical complex in Meghaninagar shortly after take-off.

Keep ReadingShow less