Salih Khater, the asylum seeker from Sudan who deliberately rammed cyclists and police outside London’s Houses of Parliament on 14th August 2018, did so after emailing Jeremy Corbyn to complain about the intelligence services, the Old Bailey heard today.
On that fateful day, three people were injured when a silver Ford Fiesta Khater was riving hit them near the Palace of Westminster. An ambulance immediately behind the Ford stopped and gave assistance to the injured, while his car went on to crash into the separation barrier of the pavement situated between St Margaret Street and Abingdon Street. The Metropolitan Police responded within seconds and arrested Khater without further incident. A UK Government official has described a 47-second video of a white van apparently tailing the suspect prior to the incident as "classic security behaviour", indicating the suspect may have been being followed.
Khater, 30, is accused of driving at police officers guarding the side entrance of the Palace of Westminster in a bid to “cause maximum death and injury” during the attack, and “kill as many people as possible”.
“First, he drove at cyclists waiting at traffic lights. Then he drove at police officers who were guarding the side entrance to the Palace of Westminster. His actions were not a mistake or as a result of some kind of mechanical error to his vehicle. They were deliberate and designed to cause maximum death and injury. He caused widespread fear and chaos but miraculously, and contrary to his intentions, he did not kill anyone that day. Those who were faced with a vehicle being driven at them at high velocity somehow, and largely by their quick responses, managed to avoid death or very serious injury,” Prosecutor Alison Morgan QC said.
Khater, born in Sudan, was granted asylum in Britain in 2010 after claiming he had been tortured over his association with a political group in the country called the Justice and Equality Movement. He denies two counts of attempted murder and two alternative charges of attempting to cause grievous bodily harm.
On 24th May that year, he emailed Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn to express concern about an “event” involving the intelligence services, saying he was going to complain to police as well.
“There is no record of any such complaint being made. The response from a Labour Party representative was understandably vague,” Morgan explained.
The trial continues.
