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.
