Buckingham Palace attack: Uber driver Mohiussunnath Chowdhury appears in court charged with sword attack

Man, 26, charged with preparing an act of terrorism

Mohiussunnath Chowdhury reached for a large blade and shouted ‘Allahu Akhbar’ several times when officers approached his car (AFP)

An Uber driver charged with attacking police officers with a sword outside Buckingham Palace has appeared in court.

Mohiussunnath Chowdhury, 26, spoke only to confirm his name, age and address during a brief hearing at Westminster Magistrates’ Court, where he appeared in the dock wearing a grey prison tracksuit.

He has been charged with one count of “engaging in conduct in preparation for giving effect to his intention to commit an act of terrorism” in the incident on 25 August.

Mark Carroll, from the Crown Prosecution Service, told the court uniformed police officers were travelling in a marked vehicle next to the Queen Victoria Memorial, in Constitution Hill, when a blue Toyota Prius drove towards them at about 8.30pm.

“Officers approached the vehicle and the male driver reached for a large sword from inside and shouted ‘Allahu Akhbar’ several times,” he added.

“The officer struggled with the individual and sprayed him with CS spray.”

Three police officers suffered minor injuries before taking the suspect into custody.

It is understood that no members of the royal family were in Buckingham Palace at the time, with the incident sparking a large evacuation around the palace, St James’s Park and The Mall.

Chowdhury, of Kirkwood Road in Luton, was remanded in custody to appear at the Old Bailey on 21 September.

A second man arrested in relation to the case, aged 30 from west London, has been released from custody with no further action.

An initial Metropolitan Police statement gave the defendant’s second name as Choudhury. This has been corrected following updated information