Parsons Green bomb bid ‘part of film fantasy’

A teenage asylum seeker has denied trying to blow up a Tube train to avenge the death of his father in Iraq, saying it was all part of a film “fantasy”.

Ahmed Hassan, 18, of Sunbury, Surrey, is accused of planting 400g of TATP and shrapnel on a packed carriage timed to explode at Parsons Green during the rush hour on 15 September last year.

Giving evidence at the Old Bailey, he claimed he did it for “attention” and only meant for the device to catch light.

The photography student, who dreamed of being the next David Attenborough, said he got a “fugitive” fantasy after watching action movies during the summer holidays when he was “bored”. 0 An artist’s impression of Ahmed Hassan at his trial

But prosecutor Alison Morgan suggested he meant to cause “maximum” damage to ease his guilt at being offered a “safe haven” in the country he blamed for his father’s death.

Even though the bomb only partially exploded, she said: “This is a very calculated act of anger, Mr Hassan. Something you planned for some time.”