A Muslim convert has been jailed for planning a "spectacular" terror attack on Oxford Street in London.

Lewis Ludlow, 27, swore allegiance to Islamic State as he prepared to drive a van through the busy shopping district in London or Madame Tussauds.

The former Royal Mail worker, who called himself "The Eagle" and "The Ghost", wrote down his plans which were later found ripped up in a bin.

Image: Ludlow has admitted to plotting to kill people outside the Disney store in Oxford Street

He identified Oxford Street as an "ideal" target, writing: "It is expected nearly 100 could be killed in the attack."

Last year, he pleaded guilty at the Old Bailey to plotting an attack in the UK and funding IS abroad.


On Wednesday, Judge Nicholas Hilliard QC jailed Ludlow for life, with a minimum term of 15 years.

He was also sentenced to a further seven years in prison to run concurrently for the funding offence.

The judge said Ludlow plotted a "spectacular" attack "with the intention of causing death or terror".

Image: An image found on Ludlow's phone of Oxford Street

He told the defendant: "Your commitment at the time we are concerned with to violent extremism ran very deep and for some time.

"There could be no other explanation for your preparing to kill innocent people in a vehicle attack for ideological reasons."

Judge Hilliard rejected the suggestion Ludlow had been coerced by an IS supporter in the Philippines, saying the defendant was "nobody's fool".

Image: Notes showed Ludlow scouted areas and looked at hiring a van

Ludlow, from Rochester in Kent, first came to the attention of police in 2010 when he attended a demonstration led by radical preacher Anjem Choudary, the court heard.

In January last year, he bought a ticket to the Philippines for the following month but was stopped at the airport and had his passport seized.

He set up a PayPal account and a fake Facebook page called Antique Collections and also sent money to an IS supporter in the Philippines called Abu Yaqeen.

Image: Ludlow intended to use a vehicle in his attack

The court heard Ludlow detailed potential targets including Oxford Street, Madame Tussauds, St Paul's Cathedral and a "Shia temple in Romford".

He wrote: "Wolf should either use a ram attack or use... on the truck to maximise death... it is a busy street it is ideal for an attack. It is expected nearly 100 could be killed in the attack."

In April, his mobile phone was retrieved from a storm drain containing videos of the defendant swearing allegiance to IS.

Image: A picture of Madame Tussaud's found on Ludlow's phone

After his guilty plea Ludlow, who has autism, told how he rejected an MI5 advance in March 2017 but agreed to engage with the Prevent programme.

He became "bitter" when he was blocked from going to the Philippines, adding he "felt that I was trapped like an animal unable to escape its cage".

Ludlow claimed Abu Yaqeen initially asked for money, then talking him into plotting an attack in Britain, saying "you have to kill them".

He told the court: "I said no at first, I did not want to because I felt this was a bit scary and then he said 'you have to do it. You have to kill them, make them pay in blood, you must get revenge. They are not innocent. They deserve to die'."