A homegrown terrorist who was just 10 minutes away from getting a gun to launch a deadly attack at London’s Hyde Park refused to come to court where he was jailed for life.
Edward Little had targeted a Christian preacher who regularly appeared at Speaker’s Corner and vowed to shoot ‘everyone with her’.
The 22-year-old, who converted to Islam in prison, settled on the plan after rejecting a mass gun attack on the late Queen’s funeral in Westminster.
He was arrested on his way to buy a gun in south London days later on September 23 last year.
In a televised hearing, Mrs Justice McGowan jailed Little for life with a minimum term of 16 years.
She said an attack at Speaker’s Corner would have risked the lives of many people had Little not been stopped, adding: ‘That part of the park is famous for its tradition of free speech.
‘Edward Little believed an attack there would send a strong message.
‘Hyde Park is a highly popular location and a tourist attraction. Any attack there would risk the lives of many people of all faiths and from all over the world and you undoubtedly struck terror.’
She went on: ‘You wanted to emulate what the murderers of Lee Rigby had done.
‘You regretted that your preparations were too late to carry out an attack on the state funeral.’
Prosecutor Duncan Penny KC had said Little planned to kill the Christian preacher Hatun Tash at Speaker’s Corner in Hyde Park, anyone with her, as well as an police officers or soldiers in the area.
In his chats on Threema, Little referred to the well-known preacher who regularly debates Islam as an ‘evil witch’ and said he could shoot her ‘point blank’ and ‘everyone with her’.
Little said he would wear a camera so he could live-stream the attack.
Last September 17, Little claimed that he ‘100%’ had a ‘brother in prison’ who would be joining in the ‘operation’.
He said he would travel to London for reconnaissance and see if it was best to ‘have us hit separate targets’.
On September 18, Little identified the Queen’s funeral – due to be held at Westminster Abbey the following day – as a possible alternative target.
It was suggested that ‘tyrants of the earth’ would be there, to which Little responded: ‘I was just thinking that but unfortunately it’s too late.’
Five days later on September 23, Little set off with £5,000 in cash to buy a gun.
He agreed to pay a taxi driver £300 to take him from Brighton to Lewisham, south London, saying money was no problem.
The plan was scuppered when armed police moved in to arrest him in south London.
Little declined to answer questions in police interviews but his mood changed when he was shown a YouTube view of the preacher.
He launched himself from his chair across the table at an officer, swinging repeatedly with his fists before being restrained.
He went on to admit assaulting the officer at Newbury Police Station last September 28 and was sentenced to eight months in prison.
Little had also pleaded guilty to causing grievous bodily harm with intent to a fellow inmate at Belmarsh prison on April 3.
He attacked the victim with boiling water mixed with sugar and two razor blades for ‘disrespecting’ his religion.
Mrs Justice McGowan jailed him for four years for that offence to run concurrently with his life sentence.
Previously, Little had been convicted of 14 offences in seven separate cases, including for robbery, having a knife and drug dealing, dating back to 2017.
Following a separate case at Inner London Crown Court, Tyler King, 21, Caleb Wenyeve, 21, and Reis Forde, 27, were jailed after admitting being party to a plot to sell Little a gun, although it was accepted they did not know it was for a terror attack.
King was jailed for 10 years and nine months for conspiracy to transfer a prohibited firearm.
Wenyeve was jailed for 12 years and Forde was jailed for 13 years and six months for the same offence.
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