Police tell of ‘samurai clash with terrorist’
TWO brave policemen yesterday told how they fought with a suspected terrorist armed with a samurai sword outside Buckingham Palace.
Mohiussunnath Chowdhury, 27, shouted “Allahu Akbar” (God is great) as they struggled for the 42-inch weapon, the Old Bailey heard.
The Uber driver clashed with Sgt Gavin Hutt and PC Ian Midgley after they approached him in his car, the jury was told. The Islamic State supporter was finally overpowered when a third officer sprayed CS gas at him.
Sgt Hutt said at first he thought Chowdhury “was drunk or smoking drugs” when he drove his Toyota Prius through traffic cones just yards from the Palace.
Feared
But as the officer leaned in, he spotted the handle of the sword.
He said: “I was trying to restrain him at that point. He was saying, ‘Allahu Akbar’.”
“I didn’t know what else he had in the vehicle. I feared for my life, my colleagues and members of the public.”
PC Midgley told jurors Chowdhury had “punched” him on his head and described the incident as “surreal”.
The drama happened in Constitution Hill last August. Chowdhury had earlier driven to Windsor but ended up at the Windsor Castle pub due to a sat nav error.
He allegedly left a suicide note on his sister’s laptop saying: “By the time you read this note, I will be in paradise with Allah. The Queen and her soldiers will all be in hellfire.”
Chowdhury, of Luton denies preparing an act of terrorism. The trial continues. LIFE really does imitate Poldark actor Aidan Turner.
Days after details of his new longdistance romance emerged, the star revealed that he was separated from on-screen love interest Eleanor Tomlinson for weeks during filming.
In an interview with Radio Times, the Irish actor explained that the current series of the BBC One period drama will see Ross Poldark head to the capital without his wife Demelza.
Turner, 34, said: “Ross and Demelza spend weeks apart while Ross is in London. There were huge gaps during filming where Eleanor and I didn’t see each other so it played out for real.
“When we did get back together – Ross invites Demelza to London and they spend a week there – it was lovely to reunite.”
The on-screen separation may have hit close to home for Turner, who recently found love with US actress Caitlin FitzGerald, 35.
Best known as Libby Masters in TV series Masters Of Sex, FitzGerald is based in New York, over 3,000 miles away from Turner’s home in London.
The pair were spotted enjoying a romantic trip to Paris last week and are believed to have been dating for around four months.
A source close to the couple said: “It’s been serious between Aidan and Caitlin for a while now.
“They’re a lovely couple and happy keeping things low-key. They fly back and forth to be with one another as often as possible.” Ross and Demelza’s time apart is due to the dashing captain’s decision to head to Parliament as an MP so he can better fight for workers’ rights. Turner said art for he had “loved” the experience of speaking in the House of Commons during filming.
He said: “I have always found the political history of this period interesting. You get an idea of what it would have been like at the time.
“It is surreal to be up there talking about backing William Wilberforce in his Bill to abolish slavery.”
Asked whether he admires the way Ross stands up for his beliefs, Turner added: “He’s a real hero, isn’t he?”