Iranian dissident who tried to start car fire detained indefinitely

Sam Parsa was handed a hospital order without limit of time

A man who planted an incendiary device in a diplomatic car outside the Iranian embassy has been detained indefinitely.

Iranian dissident Sam Parsa, 60, pushed a bottle of flammable liquid into the vehicle's exhaust pipe near Hyde Park in central London on 5 September 2018.

The Old Bailey heard it was only "pure chance" that it had not gone off.

On Thursday, He was made subject to a hospital order without limit of time, having been found guilty of attempted arson with intent to endanger life.

At his trial last December, the jury heard Parsa, from Tottenham, had planned for the car to be set on fire when the engine was started.

The bottle went undiscovered for 30 hours before it was spotted by a contractor, who raised the alarm.

Experts who examined the bottle confirmed it was a "viable incendiary device", the court was told.

Builders working near the Iranian Embassy found the device before it was triggered

Parsa, who had sought asylum in 1990, was linked by his DNA to both the bottle and the scarf stuffed inside.

The court heard he had suffered mental health problems for many years and had been diagnosed with bipolar affective disorder.

He was seen acting strangely outside the home of then Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn in 2017 and also at the entrance to Downing Street.

Judge Mark Dennis QC said Parsa presented a "significant risk" of harm to those he disagreed with or opposed for political reasons, and had an "entrenched" hatred of the current Iranian regime.

He added: "It was pure chance that the embassy car was not used before the discovery of the incendiary device."