A person who averted a possible bombing by befriending the attacker advised a 999 name handler “he was about to kill a lot of people”, a courtroom has heard.
Mohammed Farooq, 28, who’s accused of planning a terror assault at St James’s Hospital in Leeds, was “agitated” when Nathan Newby noticed him within the early hours of 20 January.
Mr Newby requested him if he was “alright” after which proceeded to speak to him for 5 hours, Sheffield Crown Court heard in a police interview with him.
During what Mr Newby described as “totally normal chat”, Farooq allegedly stated he wished to actual revenge on the hospital.
Farooq advised him: “They’ve stabbed me in the back they’ve f****d me over. He wanted to get them back – basically they had f****d his life up.”
Shortly afterwards Mr Newby stated Farooq revealed he had the explosives on him.
Farooq “just came out with it, absolutely normal, and said ‘oh it’s just a bomb'”, stated Mr Newby.
Mr Newby requested him “what’s your plans?” and Farooq allegedly stated he was going to “walk through the main doors, past the lifts, straight to the canteen at the back” and look forward to the canteen to fill with nurses after which gentle the fuse and stroll out.
“I kept him talking, trying to keep him calm. The priority was to try and get him away from the hospital”, Mr Newby added.
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999 name made off Farooq’s telephone
Mr Newby, who was a affected person on the hospital, spent a number of hours speaking and ultimately it was Farooq who requested him to name 999, just for Mr Newby to find his telephone had run out of battery.
When Farooq provided his telephone, Mr Newby grew to become involved: “I said it’s not going to set that off is it?”. He requested Farooq to kind the quantity in and put it on speaker.
Mr Newby advised police: “I was shocked I had managed to talk him out of it. I reached out my hand, I gave him a hug and said ‘mate you’ve done the right thing’, to try and keep him calm.
“I assumed what would have occurred if I had wrestled him to the ground and he bought agitated – a whole lot of what ifs.”
In the 999 call, played to the jury, Mr Newby could be heard saying: “I’m a affected person, I’ve been at hospital and ran into a man. How lengthy have we been having a chat for? Just a few hours.
“He’s a good lad. I am sat with him now… He’s just pulled a gun out.”
Mr Newby stated he didn’t realise the gun solely fired blanks and persuaded Farooq to put it on a close-by bench.
Later he advised Farooq: “You’re doing the right thing mate, think about your kids and that. You’re doing the best thing mate, you are.”
Farooq, a scholar nurse from Roundhay in Leeds, was arrested outdoors the hospital with a viable bomb, manufactured from a strain cooker and 9.9kg of low explosives.
He had been viewing extremist movies on TikTok, and had additionally carried out a reconnaissance journey round RAF Menwith Hill, the courtroom was advised.
The medical assist employee had pleaded responsible to terrorism offences forward of his trial for allegedly planning the assault on the hospital and the RAF station in North Yorkshire.
Farooq admits taking the bomb to the hospital however denies getting ready acts of terrorism between 12 July 2021 and 21 January 2023.
Gul Nawaz Hussain KC, defending, advised the courtroom his consumer was “ready and willing” to detonate the home-made bomb on the hospital due to a “sense of anger and grievance” in the direction of work colleagues however was not motivated by Islamist extremism and never radicalised.
The trial continues.
Source: information.sky.com”