Terror accused kept homemade bomb in car - court

Mohammad Farooq denies preparing acts of terrorism

A man accused of trying to bomb a hospital had stored a homemade explosive device in his car for about three weeks before his arrest, jurors have heard.

Mohammad Farooq, 28, is accused of targeting St James's Hospital in Leeds, where he worked, on 20 January 2023.

Mr Farooq denies preparing acts of terrorism, but has pleaded guilty to firearms offences and possessing an explosive substance with intent.

He has also pleaded guilty to having a document likely to be useful to a person preparing or committing an act of terrorism.

On Thursday, jurors at Sheffield Crown Court heard further transcripts from Mr Farooq's interviews with police following his arrest.

He told officers he had kept a homemade pressure-cooker bomb in the boot of his car for about three weeks before his arrest.

During that time, ANPR cameras showed he had made two trips to RAF Menwith Hill, a spy base near Harrogate which prosecutors allege was his first intended target.

In his police interviews, Mr Farooq said he had driven to the countryside for fresh air and had forgotten he had the explosive device in his car.

He told his interviewers he "had no idea" the bomb he had made "was capable of going off" and he had "made a stupid mistake".

'Take body down'

The trial jury also heard that Mr Farooq had explained to officers that he had kept a meat cleaver under his bed "to make me feel safe" after he had suffered nightmares.

The defendant, who lived in the Roundhay area of Leeds, added: "I was just being paranoid. I just had that under my bed so I sleep more peacefully."

He told officers: "I don't have any close friends, I can't talk to anyone about my problems. That's probably what has led to this."

Asked by police why he owned a set of binoculars, which the court heard he had searched for online in the months leading up to the intended attack, Mr Farooq told officers: "I like watching birds".

Jurors heard he had also made internet searches for night-vision goggles, which he again said were for birdwatching.

Mr Farooq said he had "definitely not" used either item to observe the RAF Menwith Hill site.

The court was told that rap lyrics written by Mr Farooq - in which he said he would "take a body down" - were also found on his phone, as well as a passage from a short story which he said was about him and which referred to him considering taking his own life.

He claimed the lyrics were "a figure of speech", while the passage from the story had been a quote.

Meanwhile, the jury heard Mr Farooq had told police that videos of an anti-gay, anti-Jewish and anti-West nature on his phone had been automatically downloaded from the social media app Tik Tok via another app.

The trial continues.

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