Muslim convert plotted bloodbath at Disney store
Isil disciple radicalised by Anjem Choudary had researched van hire prices in Oxford Street
A MUSLIM convert radicalised by Anjem Choudary, the extremist preacher, plotted to kill 100 people in a terror attack outside the Disney shop in Oxford Street.
Lewis Ludlow, 26, who swore allegiance to Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil), also plotted to target tourist attractions such as Madame Tussauds by ramming a van into crowds.
The former Royal Mail worker, from Rochester, Kent, had been raising funds for a South East Asian terror cell under the guise of an antiques firm.
In February, he was intercepted at Heathrow en route to the Philippines, where he had intended to join a radicalised medic engaged in raising funds for Isil. He told police he planned to go for a few days as a sex tourist but his passport was confiscated.
Ludlow, who called himself “The Eagle”, then concentrated on plotting an attack in London, visiting potential targets, taking photographs and scribbling down his plans, later found ripped up in a bin.
He had researched hotel and van hire prices in Oxford Street and made reference in his notes to “kuffar,” a “coordinated attack” and a “realistic goal to hit double figures”.
Ludlow was arrested by counter terrorism police on April 18 and at an initial court appearance refused to stand, telling the chief magistrate he could only stand for Allah.
He had been due to face trial on two terror charges but yesterday changed his plea when he appeared via video link at the Old Bailey, admitting plotting an attack in the UK and funding
One torn-up note said: ‘It is a busy street. It is ideal for an attack. It is expected nearly 100 could be killed’
Isil abroad. A charge of attempting to join Isil in the Philippines, which he denied, will lie on file.
The defendant, who lived with his parents and siblings in a former council house, is understood to have converted to Islam when he was 17 and became a regular at Friday prayers at a nearby mosque in Chatham.
He first came to the attention of police two years later, in 2010, when he attended a rally led by Choudary and his banned Al-muhajiroun (ALM) group.
Ludlow was arrested by Kent Police in August 2015 on suspicion of being a member of ALM. A mobile phone seized from his home contained messages suggesting he planned to travel to Syria, as well as videos of beheadings, but the CPS said there was not enough evidence to prosecute.
Ludlow was kept under surveillance from October 2017, which led to his arrest at Heathrow.
When police searched his home, his phone had been thrown over a fence. It contained conversations with a man called Abu Yaqeen in the Philippines, described by the CPS as a member of Isil “involved in fundraising for violent jihad”, whom Ludlow had asked to help find him a wife.
Another phone, recovered from a storm drain near Ludlow’s home, contained photographs of his reconnaissance trip to central London.
Several torn up notes found in bins detailed various potential targets and the busiest times of day on Oxford Street. One said “It is a busy street. It is ideal for an attack. It is expected nearly 100 could be killed.”
At a previous hearing, prosecutor Mark Dawson said: “At its highest it is a plot to cause mass fatalities using a vehicle in Oxford Street, targeting the Disney store amongst other places, at its busiest time.
“It is accepted he cannot drive and would need other people to assist.”
Ludlow will be sentenced on Nov 2.