THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: A terrorist gang involved in a plot to blow up the London Stock Exchange, the American Embassy and the home of Boris Johnson could be free in just six years.
The group of four Qaeda-inspired fundamentalists admitted planning to send mail bombs to their targets during the run up to Christmas 2010 and discussed launching a Mumbai-style attack on Parliament.
But they could all be out after just six years after the two ringleaders of the group were given an indication of their sentences before deciding whether or not to plead guilty.
Mohammed Chowdhury, described as the group’s “lynchpin”, and Shah Rahman, his accomplice, pleaded guilty following a so-called Goodyear hearing where the judge gave them an indication of their maximum sentences should they plead guilty.
The judge, Mr Justice Wilkie, told Chowdhury, 21, that he would be sentenced to no more than 13 and half years, while Rahman, 28, was told he would be given 12 and a half years if he admitted his involvement in the plot.
The two, along with fellow conspirators Gurukanth Desai, 30, and Abdul Miah, 25, admitted the charges of preparing for acts of terrorism after being made aware of the sentences they were likely to serve.
It was part of a controversial 'Goodyear Direction' which allows defendants to judge whether they should plead guilty, depending on the sentence they are likely to face.
Had they been opted to go to trial instead and been found guilty by a jury, they would likely have been sentenced to approximately 20 years.
But now they could be out in fewer than six years. They will be released automatically at the half-way point in their sentence and spend the remainder on licence.
They will also have a year deducted for time already spent on remand. » | Mark Hughes, Tom Whitehead and Duncan Gardham | Wednesday, February 01, 2012
