An Uber driver armed with a samurai sword tried to attack police officers outside Buckingham Palace because he believed the Queen was “an enemy of Allah”, the Old Bailey heard.
Mohiussunnath Chowdhury, 27, swerved in front of a police van outside the Royal residence and reached for the four-foot blade in the footwell of his cab, it is said.
He wanted to become a “martyr” and was heard shouting “Allahu Akbar” as he tussled with officers as they tried to restrain him, on August 25 last year.
Prosecutor Timothy Kray QC told jurors Chowdhury had left behind a suicide note, addressed to his sister, outlining the reasons for his planned attack.
“Tell everyone that I love them and they should struggle against the enemies of Allah with their lives and their property”, he wrote.
“The Queen and her soldiers will all be in the hellfire.
“They go to war with Muslims around the world and kill them without any mercy.
“They are the enemies that Allah tells us to fight.”
Mr Kray told the court Chowdhury had bought a sharpener for the sword a few hours before the alleged attack, and wanted to be “in paradise with Allah”.
However he now claims that he only intended to get himself killed and was not planning to hurt anyone else.
