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| Dart, Alom and Mahmood jailed for preparing for acts of terrorism | Dart, Alom and Mahmood jailed for preparing for acts of terrorism |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Three British men have been jailed at the Old Bailey for engaging in conduct in preparation of acts of terrorism. | Three British men have been jailed at the Old Bailey for engaging in conduct in preparation of acts of terrorism. |
| Richard Dart was jailed for six years, Imran Mahmood received nine years and nine months and Jahangir Alom was jailed for four years and six months. | Richard Dart was jailed for six years, Imran Mahmood received nine years and nine months and Jahangir Alom was jailed for four years and six months. |
| The trio, who pleaded guilty in March, had discussed military repatriation town Royal Wootton Bassett as a target. | |
| Alom was a police community support officer while Dart was a convert to Islam. All three lived in London. | |
| They were arrested in the capital city weeks before the Olympic Games. | |
| 'For Allah' | 'For Allah' |
| Dart, 30, of Broadway, Ealing, west London, and Mahmood, 22, from Dabbs Hill Lane, Northolt, west London, were both born in the UK. Alom, 26, of Abbey Road, Stratford, was born in Bangladesh but is a British citizen. | |
| Mr Justice Simon told them they held "radical Islamist beliefs and have shown yourselves to be committed to acts of terrorism". | Mr Justice Simon told them they held "radical Islamist beliefs and have shown yourselves to be committed to acts of terrorism". |
| Dart refused to stand when he was sentenced, and said: "I don't wish to stand up, I believe ruling and judging is only for Allah." | Dart refused to stand when he was sentenced, and said: "I don't wish to stand up, I believe ruling and judging is only for Allah." |
| The judge said that they were all "committed fundamentalists" who would have been prepared to kill. | The judge said that they were all "committed fundamentalists" who would have been prepared to kill. |
| Mahmood and Dart were both given extended sentences, meaning that they will serve two-thirds of their prison terms rather than half, and they will spend five years on licence. | Mahmood and Dart were both given extended sentences, meaning that they will serve two-thirds of their prison terms rather than half, and they will spend five years on licence. |
| He told Dart and Mahmood: "I'm satisfied to the required criminal standard that neither of you had ruled out an attack in the United Kingdom, and that you, Mahmood, were looking at arming yourself with a bomb." | He told Dart and Mahmood: "I'm satisfied to the required criminal standard that neither of you had ruled out an attack in the United Kingdom, and that you, Mahmood, were looking at arming yourself with a bomb." |
| After the sentencing, the Metropolitan Police said the convictions followed a painstaking investigation by the Met's counter-terrorism command and security services that had uncovered secret conversations about potential attacks in the UK and abroad. | |
| Deputy Assistant Commissioner Stuart Osborne, head of the Met's counter-terrorism command, said the investigation had involved a "mixture of dedicated, diligent traditional detective work combined with the latest technology and computer techniques". | |
| He said the trio were "dangerous men". | |
| "This case serves as a classic example of how terrorists live in our midst while preparing their acts and their determination to travel overseas to train before returning to the UK," he said. | |
| Terror training | Terror training |
| The three men admitted carrying out the offence between July 2010 and July last year at a previous hearing last month. | |
| Dart and Alom travelled to Pakistan to try to get terrorist training, and took advice from Mahmood who had already visited the country. | Dart and Alom travelled to Pakistan to try to get terrorist training, and took advice from Mahmood who had already visited the country. |
| Former BBC security guard Dart also discussed bomb making with Mahmood, and military repatriation town Royal Wootton Bassett as a potential target. | Former BBC security guard Dart also discussed bomb making with Mahmood, and military repatriation town Royal Wootton Bassett as a potential target. |
| Police discovered fragments of text on Dart's laptop that revealed that the pair had used the computer to have a "silent conversation" to avoid possible surveillance bugs. | Police discovered fragments of text on Dart's laptop that revealed that the pair had used the computer to have a "silent conversation" to avoid possible surveillance bugs. |
| They would open a word processor document and take it in turns to type, before deleting the text and mistakenly assuming none of it would be stored on the machine. | They would open a word processor document and take it in turns to type, before deleting the text and mistakenly assuming none of it would be stored on the machine. |
| However forensic experts were able to plough through 2,000 pages of computer code to decipher fragments of what was said. | However forensic experts were able to plough through 2,000 pages of computer code to decipher fragments of what was said. |
| These included Mahmood making a reference to Royal Wootton Bassett and then adding "if it comes down to it it's that or even just to deal with a few MI5 MI6 heads". | These included Mahmood making a reference to Royal Wootton Bassett and then adding "if it comes down to it it's that or even just to deal with a few MI5 MI6 heads". |
| Counter-terrorism teams also believe that the pair used the same tactic walking down the street with a mobile phone. | Counter-terrorism teams also believe that the pair used the same tactic walking down the street with a mobile phone. |
| 'Object of suspicion' | |
| All three had been stopped at airports while travelling to and from Pakistan. | |
| When Mahmood was stopped at Manchester in 2010, traces of explosives were found on two rucksacks that he had with him. | |
| He later admitted that he had received rudimentary training in explosives while in Pakistan. | |
| Dart, who changed his name to Salahuddin al-Britani, became involved in extremism after moving from his home town of Weymouth, Dorset, to east London and fraternising with radical Muslim Anjem Choudary. | |
| His beliefs were brought into the spotlight as part of a BBC television documentary My Brother The Islamist, by his stepbrother Robb Leech. | |
| Alom joined the Territorial Army in 2006 as part of the G Company 7th Battalion the Rifles, but did not complete his training due to medical reasons. | |
| The following year he became a PCSO but left the job in September 2009. | |
| Mr Justice Simon said that he and Dart were "the object of suspicion" for their fellow radicals, and may have felt the need to prove themselves. | |
| Alom had his own contact with a fourth man, Mohammed Tariq Nasar, a Briton now living in Pakistan, to try to get terrorist training, it is claimed. Mr Nasar has not been charged with any offence. | |
| The trio were arrested on 5 July last year just before the start of the Olympics, and were charged on 18 July. |