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Parsons Green bomber jailed for life: will serve minimum of 34 years behind bars

The teenager who planted the Parsons Green Tube bomb which injured 51 passengers has been jailed for life with a minimum of 34 years.

Iraqi asylum seeker Ahmed Hassan, 18, was found guilty of attempted murder at the Old Bailey earlier this month after planting a homemade bomb on a crowded rush-hour London underground train.

The teenager’s trial at the Old Bailey heard he made a bomb packed with 400g of ‘Mother of Satan’ explosives and 2.2kg of shrapnel then planted it on a busy District Line train.

The bomb, hidden inside a Lidl bag, only partially exploded on the floor of the carriage at Parsons Green on September 15 last year.

<em>Fireball – the blast ripped through the carriage on the District Line train, leaving 23 people with burns (Picture: PA)</em>
Fireball – the blast ripped through the carriage on the District Line train, leaving 23 people with burns (Picture: PA)

The fireball that swept through the carriage left 23 people with burns, with some describing their hair catching fire and their clothes melting in the blast, while 28 more suffered cracked ribs and other crush injuries in the stampede to get out of the platform via a narrow stairway.

Meanwhile, Hassan destroyed his phone and changed into a Chelsea shirt as he fled London with more than £2,000 in cash but was picked up by police at the Port of Dover the next day.

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Sentencing Hassan, Mr Justice Haddon-Cave said: “Your intention that morning was to kill as many members of the British public as possible by planting the IED on a busy commuter Tube train.”

Had his bomb fully exploded, there would have been “numerous fatalities”, he said.

<em>Plan – Hassan planted the homemade bomb on the train at Wimbledon (Picture: PA)</em>
Plan – Hassan planted the homemade bomb on the train at Wimbledon (Picture: PA)

The judge said Hassan was “determined to create as much death and carnage that day as possible” and knew the train would be crowded.

He said the teen – who the court heard wanted to avenge the death of his father in Iraq – was a “dangerous and devious individual” who plotted his attack with “ruthless determination and almost military efficiency while pretending to be a model asylum seeker”.

The judge said the distress of the victims, a number of whom gave evidence at the trial, was plain to see and the bombing had been life-changing for many of them.

After handing down the life sentence, Mr Justice Haddon-Cave told Hassan: “You should understand that the Koran is a book of peace. Islam is a religion of peace.”

He added: “Islam forbids breaking the law of the land where one is living or is a guest.”

<em>Bomb – Hassan used shrapnel to pack his bomb before he planted it on the train (Picture: PA)</em>
Bomb – Hassan used shrapnel to pack his bomb before he planted it on the train (Picture: PA)

During his trial, the court heard Hassan pretended to engage with the anti-terrorism Prevent scheme while secretly planning his attack.

Following his arrival in Britain in 2015, Hassan told Home Office officials he had been trained to kill by Islamic State but later claimed to have made up the story.

The jury deliberated for just over four hours to reject his explanation that he only wanted to act out a fantasy like the Tom Cruise film Mission: Impossible.

The teen, who said he aspired to be the next David Attenborough, made his bomb while his unsuspecting foster parents Penny and Ron Jones, who were awarded an MBE in 2010, were on holiday in Blackpool.

<em>David Attenborough – the student claimed he wanted to be the next David Attenborough (Picture: PA)</em>
David Attenborough – the student claimed he wanted to be the next David Attenborough (Picture: PA)

The couple did not give evidence in the trial but afterwards said authorities should have warned them to look out for signs of radicalisation.

Mrs Jones told ITV News: “I am cross with him for what he’s done, and that he’s done this in my house makes me feel very, very betrayed, I can’t help that. Because he’s such a bright and intelligent child, he’d got a good future ahead of him.”

(Top picture: Reuters)