Jail for IS supporter who urged attack on Prince George

An Islamic State (IS) supporter who called for an attack on Prince George has been jailed for life with a minimum of 25 years.

Husnain Rashid, of Nelson, Lancashire, had maintained his innocence throughout proceedings at Woolwich Crown Court, but dramatically changed his plea at the end of the prosecution opening and admitted a string of terror offences.

The 32-year-old used a Telegram chat group to call on supporters on October 13 to target the four-yearold heir to the throne, who had started at Thomas’s Battersea, in south-west London, a month earlier.

He also posted suggestions of which British football stadiums terrorists could strike following the deadly attack outside Besiktas’s ground in Turkey, and plotted to inject ice cream with poison.

Rashid posted a photograph of the prince at the school superimposed with silhouettes of two masked jihad fighters.

Sentencing him, Judge Andrew Lees said: “The message was clear – you were providing the name and address of Prince George’s school, an image of Prince George’s school and the instruction or threat that Prince George and other members of the royal family should be viewed as potential targets.”

He added: “You provided what you regarded as inspiration for suitable targets for lone wolf terror attacks.

“Attacks in Western countries were in your eyes the only suitable acceptable alternative to jihad itself.”

Rashid admitted three counts of engaging in conduct in preparation of terrorist acts, and was given a life sentence for each, with a minimum term of 25 years, and one count of encouraging terrorism.

Two further charges of dissemination of a terrorist publication were laid on file.

The offences spanned from October 2016 to April this year.

During his May trial, prosecutor Annabel Darlow told the court Rashid messaged the Telegram group with a picture of the young prince, saying: “Even the royal family will not be left alone.”