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Westminster car crash driver Salih Khater jailed for life | Westminster car crash driver Salih Khater jailed for life |
(32 minutes later) | |
A man who drove at cyclists and police officers outside Parliament has been jailed for life for attempted murder. | A man who drove at cyclists and police officers outside Parliament has been jailed for life for attempted murder. |
Salih Khater, 30, of Highgate Street, Birmingham, aimed his car at members of the public before swerving towards the officers in Parliament Square on 14 August 2018. | |
He must serve at least 15 years in jail, the Old Bailey judge said. | He must serve at least 15 years in jail, the Old Bailey judge said. |
Khater was accused of attempting to cause maximum carnage, and it was said to be "miraculous" no-one was killed. | Khater was accused of attempting to cause maximum carnage, and it was said to be "miraculous" no-one was killed. |
The court was told he tried to "kill as many people as possible" with his Ford Fiesta. | |
CCTV footage showed how he careered into a security lane and crashed into barriers as two police officers jumped out of the way. | |
Alison Morgan QC told jurors Khater's attack was "premeditated and deliberate" and had a terrorist motive. | |
The defendant claimed he had driven to London to find the Sudanese embassy to get a visa but "got lost" around Westminster and panicked. | |
However, 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 had still not offered an explanation for what he did. | |
He argued: "The lack of evidence is not a proper basis for drawing a conclusion there is evidence of a terrorist connection." | |
But Mrs Justice McGowan found Khater had deliberately copied terrorists and jailed him for life with a minimum term of 15 years. | |
"Your undoubted intention was to kill as many people as possible and by doing so spread fear and terror," she said; adding that he had "replicated the acts of others who undoubtedly have acted with terrorist motives". | |
The court heard Khater was born in Sudan before being granted asylum in Britain in 2010, claiming he had been tortured in his birth country. | |
In the months before the attack, Khater had showed signs of "paranoia" about British authorities, emailing Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn to express concern about an "event" involving the intelligence services. |