Brusthom Ziamani has been found guilty of plotting a 'Lee Rigby-style' terror attack in London and was told by a judge he faces a lengthy jail term

A teenage Muslim convert who wanted to replicate the murder of Lee Rigby had written a letter in which he swore to kill 'every gay, every Shia' and to 'remove soldiers' heads' two months before his arrest.

Brusthom Ziamani, 19, was arrested in August last year as he wandered the streets of the capital with a rucksack containing a large hammer, a 12 inch knife and an Islamic flag.

He was today found guilty of planning to kill a soldier after the court heard he planned to hold up the severed head for a friend to photograph. He now faces life in jail.

In a letter to his parents, found by police during a separate arrest in a south London flat in June, he railed against the West and wrote about mounting an attack on a British soldier and expressed the desire to die a martyr.Britain.'

Despite the incriminating letter, Ziamani was released, as he denied he was planning a copycat terror atrocity like the murder of Fusilier Rigby.

Born to Congolese parents and raised a Jehovah's Witness, Ziamani converted in his late teens.

Ziamani had become obsessed with videos about death on Youtube and had turned to street crime and prostitutes before and falling in with supporters of the radical cleric Anjem Choudary, a court heard.

Ziamani had tried to persuade his 16-year-old girlfriend to convert and she told the Old Bailey: 'Towards the end, when it got more intense, he would say he wanted to die a martyr and do things to get to heaven and to please god.'

The girl finished the relationship but Ziamani bombarded her with messages on Whatsapp, telling her: 'I will wipe you out.'

The court had heard that Ziamani had fallen in with the Muslim group al-Muhajiroun - or ALM - who gave him money, clothes and a place to stay after he was kicked out of his home in Camberwell, south London.

He attended their talks in the basement of a halal sweet shop in Whitechapel and bought a black flag to take on their demonstrations, saying 'I'm going to rock it everywhere I go in the Kaffirs' face'.

After just months learning of the Muslim religion, he posted comments on Facebook that he was 'willing to die in the cause of Allah' and saying: 'Sharia law on its way on our streets. We will implement it, it's part of our religion.'

He explained his Facebook postings as an attempt to 'fit in' with the ALM group, saying: 'I did not believe it. I wanted to fit in with these people because they were giving me places to stay and they did not like moderate Islam.'

The letter found in Ziamani's jeans, addressed to his parents, speaks of how he aims to 'remove British soldiers heads' and that he plans to 'kill every gay, every Shia and every lesbian'

A knife was found in his rucksack when he was arrested which police said he planned to use in the attack

A hammer was also found in the bag. Police had been following him for some time before they arrested him

He denied that he had a terror 'tool kit' of a hammer, knife and flag at the time he was arrested last August, saying he needed weapons because he felt threatened after getting out of a credit card theft operation.

And he said the black flag was packed just in case he was called to a demonstration at the last minute by text.

He rejected the suggestion that he styled himself as Mujahid Karim after one of Fusilier Rigby's killers, saying the Muslim first name meaning 'fighter, a warrior' suited his character because he used to do boxing and wrestling.

MI5 SAY PLOT WAS ONE OF THE MOST SERIOUS SINCE THE FOUNDATION OF ISIS The police and MI5 consider the plot one of the most serious to have threatened the UK since the escalation of the Syrian conflict. Andrew Parker, the director general of MI5, was referring to Ziamani when he said last month that the security services had 'stopped three UK terrorist plots in recent months alone' and that 'deaths would certainly have resulted otherwise.' Commander Richard Walton, from Counter Terrorism Command, said: 'This case starkly illustrates one of the threats we currently face in the UK. Ziamani was an impressionable young man who became radicalised then rapidly developed an extremist, violent mindset. Over a series of months he ultimately developed a desire to carry out a terrorist attack on British soldiers. 'The outstanding professional work of my officers in the SO15 Counter Terrorism Command, supported by MI5, has probably prevented a horrific terrorist attack taking place on the streets of London.' Advertisement

But the jury found him guilty of the offence today and he is now facing a lengthy prison term when he is sentenced.

After the verdict was delivered, Mr Mian told Judge Timothy Pontius: 'Of course the sentence will be one of considerable length but nevertheless he is a young man who has no previous convictions at all.'

The defendant, dressed in a grey and blue tracksuit, made not reaction to the conviction and sat impassively in the dock before being led away.

Ziamani was born in London to Congolese parents. His mother worked as a nursery nurse and his father was a psychiatric nurse.

Police raided the flat where Ziamani was staying on the Samuel Lewis Estate in Warner Road, Camberwell, on 27 June 2014 on suspicion that it was being illegally sub-let, and found him sleeping in a bunk bed in the sitting room.

As police conducted the search, Ziamani asked if he could get dressed and leave the flat and asked officers to hand him a pair of jeans.

Before handing them over, an officer searched the pockets and found a five page handwritten letter addressed to 'my beloved parents' and writing about his plans to 'wage war against the British government'.

The court heard Ziamani planned to use a black Islamic flag after he had attacked a soldier or politician

Ziamani originally liked rap music and Hollywood films but became radicalised and started attending rallys

Officers swiftly arrested Ziamani and when they interviewed him, their worst fears about his radicalisation appeared to be born out.

He was taken to Walworth police station for questioning where he was asked what he would do if he saw the Prime Minister and he told officers: 'Obviously cause him harm if he didn't have any security around him.'

Ziamani added that he felt the killing of Fusilier Lee Rigby was 'justified', but he insisted that he was not a threat to soldiers in Britain.

Ziamani said that he supported ISIS because he believed that eventually they would 'spread across the world and an Islamic state would be formed in every country' and that he was prepared to take part in bringing that about if it happened in the UK.

The teenager said he would be 'dragging people from buildings and assisting the Muslim brothers in restoring the caliphate.'

He had two black flags of Islam in his room and told police that he didn't recognise the laws of other countries because he followed the law of Allah and his moto was 'democracy is hypocrisy.'

Ziamani originally chatted about rappers and Hollywood films on social media, but after becoming radicalised he changed his online name to Mujahid Karim and used the websites to spread messages of hate

The interviewing officers asked Ziamani if he would tell them if he knew that a terrorist attack was being planned but he told them: 'No, because the country needs to learn a lesson.'

He believed that Britain would become an Islamic state, saying: 'When shariah comes it will probably be called Islamic State of Ireland and Britain not Great Britain, ISIB.'

His letter referred to killing every shia Muslim – which he said were 'non-believers' – along with other non-believers, gays, lesbians and bi-sexuals.

He wrote in his letter: 'Do not fear these people at all, shoot them in the face,' explaining to the officers that he was referring to 'the people, we're at war with, the government and the soldiers.'

The OId Bailey heard Ziamani wanted to carry out a similar atrocity to the murder of Lee Rigby, who was killed outside a barracks in Woolwich in 2013

He was asked by the officers what he would do if he was told to go and kill his family because they were Christian and Zaimani answered: 'If it is then it happens, innit. It's not them telling me, it's Allah telling me to do it, innit.'

Ziamani professed he was ready to die as a martyr, adding: 'I just want to see Allah, that's the thing, and also live in a land where rivers flow, paradise, and things like that, you know the hereafter, it's such a beautiful thing.'

On his social media postings, Ziamani appeared to be a normal teenager, posting comments about Parkour, also known as free running, which included a number of photographs taken from tall buildings around the Elephant and Castle gyratory in south London.

Using the name Bruce Ziamani on Facebook, his likes included the film star Eddie Murphy and Pizza Hut.

Ziamani's Youtube account showed a love for rappers including Tupac Shakur and Notorious BIG, both the victims of gangland shootings in the US.

A comment on his Facebook read: 'Okay I'm goin 2 dye my hair yellow, Chris Brown style!!' referring to the famous US rapper.

On April 14 last year Ziamani posted that he had got a job but a week later he split up with his girlfriend, after dating her for just over a month.

Nearly two weeks later he posted his first comment about Islam: 'Shariah law is on its way. On our streets we will implement it, it's part of our religion, we will get dem kuffar [heathens] soon we r soldiers of Allah. Takbir [god is great]!'

He changed his Facebook name to Mujahid Abdullah Shaheed Karim and by the end of May he was writing: 'Be willing to die in the cause of Allah' along with a picture that appeared to show him masked and holding up a finger in a gesture common with Islamic fighters in Syria.

In another picture he had donned a t-shirt with the words Call of Duty, from the popular video game, and the words 'Dahwah and Jihad' underneath, meaning spreading Islam with word of mouth and the sword.

On June 20, he used his phone to look up Camberwell army cadets, which produced a result for the London Irish Rifles Association in Camberwell, then he looked up army cadets Lewisham on Google maps and clicked on the result for the army cadet force in Blackheath.

The court heard Ziamani idolised Michael Adebolajo (right) who, along with Michael Adebowale (right) murder Fusilier Rigby in a crime which shocked Britain. Both are now serving life sentences

On the same day he went on to look up the radical preacher Anjem Choudary on Twitter and became friends with the radical preacher Mizanur Rahman.

A week later his flat was searched by police and he was questioned before being bailed.

After his first arrest, there was concern about Ziamani's activity 'escalating' but he was deemed 'vulnerable' and the investigating team believed he could be helped.

FROM JEHOVAH'S WITNESS TO MILITANT ISLAMIST: ZIAMANI'S CONVERSION AND RADICALISATION Brusthom Ziamani was brought up as a strict Jehovah's Witness before turning to street crime and prostitutes. His parents came from the Democratic Republic of Congo and his father worked as a psychiatric nurse and his mother a nursery nurse. He would go on evangelising mission with his parents and other members of the church, 'every single weekend from early hours of the morning till the evening' when they would 'knock on people's doors and trying to invite them to the faith.' As part of the faith, Zaimani never celebrated birthdays or Christmas, was not allowed to listen to music and could not talk to women he was not related to. Ziamani attended Peckham Academy in South London but left without any qualifications after failing all his exams, including a sixth form course in motor mechanics. At the age of 14 or 15, he started going out with a girl and he claimed that, when he was unrepentant, the church elders told his parents to ostracise him. He said he dropped out of school and joined a gang of eight school friends mugging people on the streets of South London, stealing phones and credit cards. His only arrest was on suspicion of burglary at a building site and he was not charged. Ziamani would visit prostitutes in Thamesmead, South London, and stay away from home for up to two weeks at a time. In February last year Ziamani visited Camberwell Mosque and told the imam he wanted to become a practicing Muslim and was given some books to read. When his parents found out about his conversion after finding a photograph on his phone, they threw him out of the house. After sleeping rough, he stayed at Camberwell Mosque for several days and was then taken in by a Nigerian man who was a follower of the radical group, al-Muhajiroun. A friend helped him chose a Muslim name 'Mujahid' meaning holy warrior, 'Because I used to be a fighter, do boxing and wrestling'. In the following months, Ziamani would turn from homeless petty criminal to radicalicalised Islamist and start plotting the attack for which he now faces jail. Advertisement

His parents had reported him missing to police after he left home when he converted to Islam and they decided to call in the Prevent team to see if he could be diverted from extremism.

On the last occasion they met, on July 15, the officers mentioned that they were there to try and stop him being radicalised and he muttered 'too late' under his breath.

Even after officers had released him on bail, Ziamani continued to post provocative comments on his Facebook account.

'Prevent' officers who engage with radical young people spoke to Ziamani three times over the course of two weeks after his arrest but he was described as 'unresponsive.'

Ziamani later wrote that Muslims were a 'higher calibre of person' and posted: 'They call it Great Britain, what's great about it? S*** weather, s*** football team.'

Ziamani seemed to consider the two men who killed Fusilier Lee Rigby as idols and was seeking to emulate the dubious feats of his hero Michael Adebolajo, who like him had come from a strict Christian background.

He turned up at his ex-girlfriend's house at 7am on August 19, before her father returned from a nightshift, and they went up to her bedroom to chat.

They talked for three hours and he showed her the contents of the rucksack he was carrying which appeared to be a hammer and what looked like a screwdriver or a knife wrapped in an Islamic flag.

Ziamani told her: 'Me and the brothers are planning a terrorist attack.'

Asked if he meant a bomb, he told her: 'No not like that, basically to kill a soldier or member of the government.'

She asked him if he meant an attack 'like another Lee Rigby' and he said it would be, but innocent people would not be hurt.

Ziamani was arrested at 4.30pm on August 19 in Settle Street, Whitechapel, in East London.

Once he was in the police car his bag was checked and police found a large 'pick-style' hammer, a large knife with a discoloured blade, as though it had been burned, and a black and white Islamic flag.

DC Dhaval Bhatt, said that he answered 'no comment' in all the interviews but was 'smiling and laughing' when he was asked about his posts about Lee Rigby and shown images he had posted of severed heads.

Later in Wandsworth prison Paul Morris was conducting a 'welfare interview' in Ziamani's cell and asked him why he was there.

He told the prison officer: 'I was on my way to kill a British soldier at an army barracks. I was going to behead the soldier and hold his head in the air so my friend could take a photograph.'

He said the police had stopped him on the way to commit the crime with weapons and the flag in his rucksack and that 'they' knew who the victim would be.

Ziamani claimed he joined the radical group for somewhere to stay but was found guilty of plotting the attack