This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

An Islamic State terrorist who plotted to kill Theresa May has been jailed for at least 30 years.

Naa’imur Zakariyah Rahman, 21, who had pledged allegiance to Isis, planned to bomb the gates of 10 Downing Street, kill guards and then attack the prime minister with a knife or gun.

Rahman, from Finchley, north London, was snared by a network of undercover counter-terrorism officers from the Metropolitan police, the FBI and MI5. He was found guilty of preparing acts of terrorism despite claiming that he was set up.

The drifter, originally from Birmingham, was collecting what he thought was an explosives-packed jacket and rucksack when he was arrested last November. He thought he was being helped by an Isis handler when in fact he was talking to undercover officers.

The “clever and cunning” young man had the potential to “operate below the radar to dreadful effect”, according to a pre-sentence report.

During his Old Bailey trial, Rahman admitted helping a friend to join Isis in Libya by recording a sponsorship video for the terrorist group.

Following his conviction, he told a probation officer that he would have carried out the attack on the prime minister if he had been able to.

The judge, Charles Haddon-Cave, said that Rahman was “a very dangerous individual”, adding that it was “difficult to predict when, if ever, he will become deradicalised and no longer be a danger to society”.

Rahman was sentenced to life in prison with a minimum term of 30 years. For the Isis sponsorship video, Rahman was handed six years in prison to run concurrently.

The judge stressed that the undercover officers involved in the case were “scrupulous” at all times and Rahman was the “instigator and author” of his own actions.