Ex-Taliban Briton plotted to knife MP
A BRITISH Taliban bomb maker was facing life in jail last night for plotting a “spectacular” terror attack near the Houses of Parliament.
Khalid Ali, 28, a veteran of the war in Afghanistan, planned to hack an MP, soldier or police officer to death just weeks after the Westminster Bridge attack last year.
Armed with three knives stuffed into his pockets and waistband, Ali, of Edmonton, north London, was arrested by police as he walked towards Whitehall and Downing Street.
The jihadi planned a “deadly terror attack at the very heart of this country’s democracy”, said Brian Altman, QC, prosecuting.
Ali, who was born in Saudi Arabia, moved to Britain with his family as a child. In April 2003, he got British citizenship.
In June 2011 he disappeared, resurfacing more than five years later at the British Consulate in Turkey claiming he had lost his passport.
Ali’s fingerprints and DNA samples were checked against US intelligence files and FBI agents found proof he had handled explosive devices in Afghanistan.
The trained plumber later boasted he had set off at least 300 bombs before withdrawing the admission.
Ali showed no emotion on being found guilty of preparing terrorist acts in Britain and possessing explosives with intent to endanger life abroad. He will be sentenced next month.