Man jailed for 16 years for plotting gun attack at Speakers’ Corner in Hyde Park
A Brighton man has been jailed for at least 16 years after admitting he was plotting a shooting at Speakers’ Corner in Hyde Park.
Edward Little, 21, pleaded guilty to preparing an act of terrorism in May at the Old Bailey in central London via video link from Belmarsh prison.
It was alleged he had planned to buy a gun and use it to kill a Christian preacher and her camera crew at the central London venue, as well as soldiers and police.
He had looked up different weapons and their capabilities and arranged to buy one for £5,000. He was on his way into London in a taxi with thousands of pounds in cash when he was stopped and arrested on 23 September, last year.
Today he was handed a life sentence in his absence, with a minimum term of 16 years behind bars, after he refused to attend court to hear his punishment.
Little had also refused to answer questions in his police interviews, but became violent when shown a YouTube image of the preacher he had been targeting.
He admitted assaulting one of the police officers at Newbury Police Station on 28 September last year and was sentenced to 40 weeks in prison – reduced to eight months on appeal.
At a previous hearing, a judge described his “absolutely shocking” criminal record.
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