British Prime Minister Theresa May was set to be the central target of a planned terrorism attack on Downing Street, a court has heard.
Naa'imur Rahman, from north London, has been charged with preparing to commit acts of terrorism after allegedly plotting to kill the prime minister. Details emerged in court on Wednesday, outlining how Rahman was preparing to detonate explosives to get into the PM’s office.
Prosecutor Mark Carroll told the court that Rahman’s plot would have begun at the gates of Downing Street, where explosives would be detonated to cause chaos in one direction, while May was hunted down during the distraction.
"The secondary attack was to be carried out with a suicide vest, pepper spray and a knife," he told the court.
"His purpose was to attack, kill and cause explosions."
Rahman, 20, was carrying two inert explosive devices when he was arrested last week.
The defendant appeared in court with a co-defendant, 21-year-old Mohammed Imran, from Birmingham, who is also charged with preparing to commit acts of terrorism.
The pair have allegedly been linked with the Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS) militant group in Libya. No plea was indicated by either man and there was no application for bail.
Rahman and Imran will next appear in the Old Bailey court on December 20. A Downing Street spokesman declined to comment on the case.