This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

A friend of an Islamic State terrorist who plotted to assassinate Theresa May has been found guilty of preparing to join terrorists abroad.

Mohammed Aqib Imran, 22, made arrangements to travel for jihad around the time Naa’imur Zakariyah Rahman, 21, was set on a suicide attack against the prime minister.

Rahman, from Finchley, north London, recorded an Isis sponsorship video for Imran, the Old Bailey in central London heard.

The pair were caught by a network of online role players from the Metropolitan police, MI5 and the FBI. Rahman’s plan to kill May was scuppered when undercover officers handed him a jacket and a rucksack packed with fake explosives.

Following a trial in July, Rahman was convicted of preparing acts of terrorism and Imran was found guilty of possessing a terrorist handbook. Rahman also pleaded guilty during his trial to assisting Imran in the preparation of terrorist acts by recording a sponsorship video.

Following a retrial, Imran, a former student, was also found guilty of preparing acts of terrorism abroad on or before 28 November 2017.

Mark Heywood QC, prosecuting, told jurors: “At the heart of this case is a developing radicalisation in the minds of two men who came to know each other online, and afterwards met and began to collaborate.

“Both thought about travelling abroad to further their cause, going to a conflict zone such as Syria to lend support to violence. Each also contemplated carrying out terrorist acts of violence here in the UK.

“Mohammed Imran elected to travel and set about assembling money, acquiring a fake passport, engaging in research and otherwise equipping himself with the information and means to travel abroad for violence for terrorist purposes.”

The court heard how Imran’s preferred destination was Libya or possibly Jordan, with a view to onward travel to Syria. He had saved money to pay for a fake passport and researched travel options, the court heard.

He downloaded the manual How to Survive in the West – a Mujahid’s Guide 2015, with a view to joining Isis, the jury was told.

Imran, from Sparkhill in Birmingham, denied the charge against him, claiming he only wanted to get married to a woman in Denmark he had met online. The jury deliberated for just under 18 hours before finding him guilty of preparing to engage in acts of terrorism.

In August, Rahman, who is originally from Birmingham, was jailed for life with a minimum term of 30 years.

The judge, Nicholas Hilliard QC, the recorder of London, requested a report from the probation service before sentencing on any potential future risk from Imran, as it was “a really important question, the safety of the public”.

Jenny Hopkins from the Crown Prosecution Service said: “Mohammad Imran was desperate to join Daesh [Isis] rather than remain in the UK. He was ready to give up everything to kill in the name of a warped worldview.”

Imran is due to be sentenced on 25 January.