Salih Khater wanted to kill as many as possible and copied other terrorists, says judge

A copycat terrorist who tried to “kill as many people as possible” when he ploughed into cyclists and police officers outside the Houses of Parliament has been jailed for life.

Salih Khater, 30, drove his Ford Fiesta into a pedestrian and cyclists who had stopped at a red light in Parliament Square on 14 August last year.He then drove into a security lane and crashed into barriers as two police officers jumped out of the way.

The attack was caught on CCTV, which was played in court. The Old Bailey heard Khater, of Highgate Street, Birmingham, wanted to cause maximum fatalities and that it was “miraculous” that no one had been killed.

Alison Morgan QC told jurors Khater’s attack was “premeditated and deliberate” and had a terrorist motive, although the details were unclear.

Khater claimed he had come to London to get a visa from the Sudanese embassy but “got lost” around Westminster and panicked. A jury rejected his explanation for the crash and found him guilty of two charges of attempted murder in July.

In mitigation, Peter Carter QC told the court Khater remained an “enigma” and he had still not offered an explanation for what he had done.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Forensics officers carry out tests on a silver Ford Fiesta car that was driven into cyclists outside parliament. Photograph: Daniel Leal-Olivas/AFP via Getty Images

He said: “Had there been any evidence of any link between this man and a terrorist organisation or terrorist individual or had there been any connection that he had expressed any interest in or showed any desire to pursue any link to terrorism it would have been before your ladyship. There is not. The lack of evidence is not a proper basis for drawing a conclusion there is evidence of a terrorist connection.”

Mrs Justice McGowan found Khater had deliberately copied other terrorists as she jailed him on Monday for life with a minimum term of 15 years. She said: “Your undoubted intention was to kill as many people as possible and by doing so spread fear and terror.”

She added: “You replicated the acts of others who undoubtedly have acted with terrorist motives. You deliberately copied those others. It was an attack on strangers and police officers at the seat of democracy in this country. You are dangerous in that you present a significant risk of causing serious harm to the public in the future.

“Even acting alone, you acted for a terrorist purpose. All the evidence is consistent with that conclusion.”

The court previously heard Khater was born in Sudan and granted asylum in Britain in 2010, after saying he had been tortured in his home country. In the months before the attack, the defendant showed signs of “paranoia” about the 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, the court was told. On 24 May last year, he emailed the Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, to express concern about an “event” involving the intelligence services, the court heard.

The day before the attack, Khater travelled to Peterborough and unsuccessfully applied for a fast-track UK passport, the court heard. He then set off from Birmingham to London just before 10pm, arriving after midnight.

CCTV captured Khater arriving in Parliament Square just before 1am, driving around Westminster checking the layout of the area. He then parked up and rested for four and a half hours in Windmill Street in Soho before returning to Parliament Square. He did four laps of the square before launching the rush-hour attack.

Paul Brown was crossing the road when Khater’s car “came out of nowhere” and hit him, causing bruising and grazes. Krystof Tokarski and Anya Breen were cycling to work and were waiting at traffic lights when Khater revved his engine and knocked them down. Tokarski suffered grazes and a broken finger while Breen was thrown over the bonnet, fracturing her collarbone.

Other people were trapped under their bikes, with some screaming in pain. The defendant made a sharp turn into a slip road while travelling at 32mph, forcing PCs Darren Shotton and Simon Short to dive out of the way.

As armed police removed Khater from the car, the defendant confirmed he was acting alone but failed to explain himself.