Jailed, man who lef t fake bomb outside mosque
A MAN who l eft a fake bomb outside a mosque a day after the London Bridge terror attack was jailed yesterday.
James Palmer, 31, was so incensed while watching news coverage of the June 3 incident he made a bomb with items he had in his home in Paisley.
On the evening of Sunday, June 4, he left a blue plastic bag containing two gas canisters, taped together with wire and wood, on the steps of Paisley Central Mosque while people prayed inside during Ramadan.
He left a handwritten message reading, ‘Youse are next, defo,’ inside the bag that contained the fake bomb.
The previous day, eight people were killed when three attackers drove a van into pedestrians on London Bridge then launched a knife attack in nearby Borough Market. It was the catalyst for Palmer’s drunken decision.
The matter was reported to police, an investigation was launched and a CCTV image of Palmer was shared on social media in an effort to track him down. He handed himself in and told officers he knew he was ‘stupid’, adding: ‘I was out of order.’ At an earlier hearing at Paisley Sheriff Court, Palmer pleaded guilty to committing an offence ‘aggravated by religious prejudice’. He admitted placing a package at the mosque ‘with the intention of inducing in some other person a belief it was likely to explode or ignite and thereby cause personal injury or damage to property’.
Palmer returned to the dock yesterday for sentence.
Rhona Lynch, defending, asked for leniency for Palmer, whom she described as ‘very vulnerable and timid’ with a serious alcohol problem.
She said: ‘At the time of the incident he was consuming a bottle of vodka a day.
‘There is no question that, because of the stress of
‘We all worry about terrorism’
this case hanging over his head, he has been unable to stop drinking.
‘He had been angered by the constant TV news footage of the terror attacks in London while in a state of intoxication. It appears his judgment was clouded and he behaved in a way he’d never normally behave in.’
But Sheriff David Pender jailed Palmer for 32 months, reduced from four years as he admitted his guilt.
Sheriff Pender said: ‘We all worry about terrorism. This sort of behaviour doesn’t help the situation – it has the potential to create significant tension in the community and the potential to create division.’