Mohammad Bashir, 31, is jailed for life after admitting he helped plan a terrorist attack targeting a UK military facility in Shrivenham, Swindon. Prosecutors say Bashir drove Jihad Al-Shamie, 35, on a 10-hour round trip last year to carry out hostile reconnaissance at the Defence Academy at MoD Shrivenham. The court hears the planned attack was similar in intent to Al-Shamie’s later killing of two Jewish men at Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation synagogue, but prosecutors state there is no evidence Bashir was involved in that synagogue attack.
Al-Shamie is later shot dead by police after the synagogue killings on 2 October. During the investigation, police examined phones seized from Al-Shamie in 2025 and found WhatsApp messages and voice notes between the pair discussing plans. Bashir, from Cheetham Hill, Manchester, pleaded guilty to preparation of terrorist acts. At sentencing at Manchester Crown Court, the judge said Bashir remained “a firmly committed jihadist” and was “equally engaged” in planning an attack expected to kill and be killed, rejecting his claim that his views had changed. The judge also said Bashir remained dangerous.
