Terror accused says he wanted to 'sabotage' plot

Walid Saadaoui is accused of terror offences along with Bilel Saadaoui and Amar Hussein

A former restaurant owner accused of plotting an atrocity against Jewish people has told a jury he is not a terrorist and wanted to sabotage any gun attack.

Walid Saadaoui, 38, is said to have wanted to cause "untold harm" and kill as many people as he could in a gun attack, which he denies.

He is alleged to have targeted a mass gathering of Jews in Manchester when he unknowingly laid bare his scheme to an undercover operative.

Giving evidence at Preston Crown Court, Mr Saadaoui said he was "genuinely convinced" the operative, known as Farouk, was a member of the so-called Islamic State and he was "playing a role" to appear as like-minded.

The defendant told the court about a Syrian man, known as Person A, he met outside a mosque in Norwich in 2017 who he later gave him £120 towards a flight home to see his family.

The court heard he transferred Person A more cash when he claimed he was injured and needed to get to hospital.

Mr Saadaoui said Person A later told him: "I am one of the mujahideen. I have got your name on record. You sent me money.

"If you don't answer I will report you to the police. Once they know who you sent money to, you are finished."

'Ran away'

Person A visited Mr Saadaoui's Albatross restaurant in Great Yarmouth in 2019 where he said he handed over £3,000 as part of an "Islamic tax".

The demands for money continued, he said, as Person A "made it clear" he would cut off his head if he did not pay up.

Mr Saadaoui said Person A had also told him to join a private messenger chat group where he would "copy and paste" content sent to him which he did not read

Among the posts, the court was told, were those that glorified the 2015 Islamic State gun attacks in Paris.

Asked by his barrister Felicity Gerry KC how he felt about the Paris atrocity, he said: "It's horrible. I disagree with killing innocent people."

Mr Saadaoui said he "ran away" from his business in Norfolk with his wife, Michelle, and their two children in the summer of 2023 to evade Person A and start a new life in Wigan, Greater Manchester.

However, he said Person A tracked him down and when Farouk first contacted him online in December 2023, the defendant said he believed it was "a test" by Person A.

'Cut up firearms'

During their interactions, he said Farouk was "doing everything, hiring cars, travelling all over Europe, arranging for the supply of firearms, contacting the middle men, taking the risks".

He said he believed the purpose of bringing firearms into the UK was to carry out a terrorist attack and he planned to "cut up" the firearms with an angle grinder then set up a meeting with Person A, Farouk and others in the private chat group before he called the police to swoop and arrest them.

Ms Gerry said: "Was your intention to sabotage their plans?"

"Yes," said Mr Saadaoui.

In May last year Mr Saadaoui was arrested by counter-terrorism officers at a hotel car park in Bolton as he approached the open boot of a car containing two assault rifles, a semi-automatic pistol and almost 200 rounds of ammunition.

Mr Saadaoui and his co-defendant Amar Hussein, 52, of no fixed address, deny preparing acts of terrorism between December 2023 and May 2024.

His brother Bilel Saadaoui, 36, of Hindley, Wigan, has pleaded not guilty to failing to disclose information about acts of terrorism in the same period.

The case continues.