Parsons Green Tube bomber Ahmed Hassan jailed for life for terror attack - as it happened
Iraqi asylum seeker had denied intending to kill commuters in London
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The Iraqi asylum seeker who attempted to bomb a London Tube train has been jailed for life for the Parsons Green attack.
Ahmed Hassan packed his homemade device with 400g of explosives and metal shrapnel before leaving it to explode on the District Line on 15 September.
His bomb partially detonated, sending a fireball through the packed carriage during morning rush-hour, with 30 people injured by the flames and a stampede to escape the station.
"You have violated the Quran and Islam with your actions, as well as the law of all civilised people," Mr Justice Haddon-Cave told Hassan. "It is hoped that you will recognise this one day."
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Hassan denied attempting to kill commuters and told the court he launched the bombing to live out a fugitive fantasy after watching action films over the summer holidays.
But prosecutors argued he hated Britain because he blamed the country for the death of his father, who was killed in an explosion during the Iraq War.
After arriving in Britain hidden in a lorry from Calais in 2015, Hassan told immigration officials he had been kidnapped by Isis and “trained to kill” in his home country.
But he told the Old Bailey he had lied because he wanted to claim asylum and had no contact with Isis.
Hassan had been a model student at Brooklands College in Surrey, but used a £20 Amazon voucher awarded for being named “student of the year” to buy the necessary chemicals for the bomb.
He told a teacher who later saw a message on his phone claiming “IS has accepted your donation” that it was his “duty to hate Britain”.
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said Hassan had never admitted a clear motive for the attack and that, perhaps due to his destruction of a phone and laptop, there was no evidence of him being inspired by Isis.
But an Independent investigation showed police had misinterpreted nasheeds – Islamic songs – found on a data stick in his bedroom and failed to identify them as official Isis propaganda.
The terrorist group claimed responsibility for the bombing just hours after it was carried out via its Amaq News Agency, but the statement contained no details suggesting prior knowledge or contact with Hassan.
Hassan was reported to the Government’s Prevent counter-extremism programme on at least two occasions and authorities are investigating how he was still able to launch the attack.
Police said the “devious” teenager appeared to engage with the project while secretly plotting the terror attack.
Ben Wallace, the security minister, said there are “lessons to be learned” from the case but praised authorities for their work.
He added that the police and local council had conducted an internal review into the case and the Home Office will look at the findings to identify improvements.
The judge says Hassan was inspired by Isis and dismissed his claim that he had lied about being put through an Isis training camp in his home country as a falsehood and that it was in fact true.
He cites evidence of Hassan being seen listening to extremist nasheeds, watching an Isis video, receiving a message saying "IS has received your donation" and telling other people of his experience with the group as evidence.
The judge is going through case law that governs what sentence he can hand to Hassan, having told the court that his exact age is unknown but is being treated as between 18 and 21.
The judge says Hassan started planning the attack in mid-August, around a month before he struck.
"There is no doubt in my mind that you are an extremely dangerous and devious individual."
He says he poses an ongoing risk to members of the public, having carried out the attack with "ruthless determination and almost military efficiency" while posing as a model asylum seeker.
"A life sentence is the only sentence that would provide the level of public protection required in this case."
The judge says there was sophisticated preparation, detailed planning, and he was motivated by "significant hatred and animosity towards this country, accessed extremist materials and displayed an extremist mindset" to attempt multiple murder.
He adds that Hassan exposed others to the risk of suspicion and arrest and made sophisticated attempts to conceal and destroy evidence.
He says there are only two mitigating factors - his age, being no more than 21 - and having no previous convictions or cautions.
"This can have little significance in the context of an offence of this seriousness...you were the subject of indoctrination and incubation from Isis but you are, as you were at pains to tell the jury, an extremely intelligent young man."
He says he chose to pursue his violent aims despite being shown "every kindness" by British people.
Hassan presented to mental health services with depression and PTSD, spending time in hospital, and scrawled 'bored, bored, bored' on his bedroom door.
"There is no evidence that you suffered from a mental illness or disability" that provides any mitigation for the offence.
The judge says Hassan may never be released, or be subject to licence conditions for the rest of his life if he is.
He has been sentenced to life with a minimum of 34 years.
"You have violated the Quran and Islam with your actions, as well as the law of all civilised people. It is hoped that you will recognise this one day."
The judge is now paying tribute to those involved in the attack, including the "speed and dedication" of police who tracked Hassan to Dover and gathered evidence.