Nursing assistant who planned Leeds hospital terror bomb jailed

A nursing assistant who plotted to bomb a hospital and an RAF base has been jailed for life.

Mohammad Farooq planned to detonate an explosive at St James’s Hospital in Leeds in January 2023, after earlier plotting to target RAF Menwith Hill near Harrogate.

Farooq, 29, of Hetton Road in Leeds, was found guilty at Sheffield Crown Court of preparing acts of terrorism, with jurors hearing he wanted to “kill as many nurses as possible” by detonating a pressure cooker bomb.

At sentencing on Friday, Farooq was jailed for life with a minimum term of 37 years.

Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb said nearly 10kg of explosives had been put inside the pressure cooker.

She said: “You were disillusioned in your own life, both personally and professionally, having failed to achieve the standard of work to become a nurse.”

Farooq, who was described as being on the autism spectrum by his defence team, had watched “anti-West propaganda” on Tiktok and downloaded terrorist handbooks, including one on how to make a bomb, the court heard.

Farooq was employed by the hospital at the time as a nursing assistant.

He sent a text to a nurse who he thought was working that night telling her there was a bomb on the ward.

This was done not to warn staff and patients, but to trigger an evacuation where Farooq could kill more people, the court heard.

He wanted to “detonate the bomb when the canteen was full of nurses and walk out”, the judge added.

The lone-wolf would-be attacker was “talked down” by patient Nathan Newby outside the hospital, the court heard.

Mr Newby’s evidence during the trial was “the most remarkable the court has ever heard”, outlining how Farooq told him how he planned to kill people, Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb said.

Farooq was said to have personality disorder traits and may have had depression, but his disorders did not cause or compel his offences, the judge said.

“You are a dangerous offender,” she said.

“The kind thoughtfulness of a passing stranger saved you and the people you targeted”, the judge said.

Mr Newby’s actions “prevented an atrocity”, she added.

Farooq had initially planned to attack RAF Menwith Hill, the court heard.

However, he felt the spy base, which housed US and UK staff, would be well protected, opting instead to target the hospital.

He was arrested outside the hospital with the pressure cooker bomb, which was designed to be twice as powerful as those used by the Boston Marathon bombers in 2013.

The court was told he had immersed himself in an “extremist Islamic ideology” and went to the hospital to “seek his own martyrdom” through a “murderous terrorist attack”.

Prosecutor Jonathan Sandiford KC previously said Farooq had a grievance against several of his former colleagues and had been conducting a poison pen campaign against them.

Det Supt Paul Greenwood, head of investigations for Counter Terrorism Policing North East, welcomed the sentence.

He said: “Farooq came dangerously close to harming innocent people.

“Thanks to the bravery of Nathan Newby he never fully realised his plans and has instead been forced to face the long-term consequences of his extreme ideology and deep-seated grievances.”

Prof Phil Wood, chief executive of Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, said: “Today’s sentencing helps us continue to move on from the events of that morning.

“It was an extremely difficult time for staff and patients, and I remain immensely proud of the calm and professional way in which they responded on the day to keep everyone safe.

“I would again like to thank the police for their support during the incident and throughout the investigation, and I am extremely grateful to Nathan Newby for his courage and initiative that morning.”