A man who was gathering together fireworks and other component parts to make an improvised incendiary device has been handed a five-year custodial sentence.
The investigation, which was led by detectives from the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command, found the 41-year-old man from south London had intended to combine the various component parts he’d collected in order to target a mosque in south-west London.
Steven Bishop, 41 (28.11.77) of south London had previously pleaded guilty at Kingston Crown Court to possession of an explosive substance with intent, contrary to section 3 of the Explosive Substances Act 1883, as well as collection or making a record of information of a kind likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism, contrary to section 58 of the Terrorism Act (TACT) 2000.
He was sentenced to four years’ imprisonment with an additional year to be served on licence in relation to the explosives offence, and he was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment to be served concurrently in relation to the TACT offence.
Bishop will also be subject to terrorist offender notification requirements for 15 years following the conclusion of his five-year custodial sentence.
In sentencing Bishop for the Explosives Substance Act offence, the judge ruled that Bishop had committed the offence with a terrorist link, under section 30 of the Counter Terrorism Act, 2008.
Bishop was arrested by Counter Terrorism detectives on 29 October 2018, at his address in south London. Officers attended the address after police were contacted by one of Bishop’s key workers when he showed her images of items he was collecting for the purpose, he said, to build ‘a bomb’, and told her that he was intending to target a mosque.
Commander Clarke Jarrett, head of the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command, said: “From our investigation it was clear Bishop stockpiled a quantity of fireworks and other component parts with the intention of creating a device that he was intending to use in a terrorist attack on a mosque.
“Thanks to the diligence of his key worker in alerting us we were able to intervene before he could progress with his plans any further and crucially, nobody came to any harm.
“This example shows that information we get from the public really can help to protect the public and save lives. If you have any information about suspicious or terrorist activity, then please ACT and call police on 0800 789 321.
“Given Bishop was focussed upon a mosque, and in light of recent events in New Zealand, we also know that Muslim and other faith communities may be feeling particularly concerned and vulnerable. Specialist officers continue to provide support and protective security advice to mosques, and indeed all places of worship across the UK on how to best keep their buildings and visitors safe.”
After the concerns over Bishop were raised to police, officers initially attended his address and Bishop claimed he was just planning to let fireworks off at his mother’s address in south-west London. However, further enquiries were carried out and on 29 October 2018 Bishop was arrested at his mother’s home address. When detectives searched his address, they found several fireworks – some of which had been tampered with, as well as other equipment associated with making homemade incendiary devices, including fuses and remote control and ignitor. A firing device was also delivered to Bishop’s address two days after his arrest.
Officers identified that Bishop had bought a smartphone on 18 October 2018. The first searches made on the phone were for instructions on how to access the ‘dark web’ and he carried out research on how to conduct covert internet searches.
Further analysis of his device showed Bishop visited sites and viewed videos about the Manchester, London Bridge and Paris terrorist attacks. Detectives found a comment Bishop had posted on 24 October 2018 in relation to a video on Facebook about the victims of the Manchester Arena attack which ended with him saying: “don’t worry something bad is going to happen soon mark my words”.
Two ‘VPN’ apps were downloaded on to the phone – the apps are designed to hide which internet sites and online information the user has been accessing. However, when they opened one of the apps, officers found a page was still open, which showed Bishop had been researching further details on explosives detonators. Bishop had also carried out a number of online searches for Morden mosque.
Police searched Bishop’s mother’s address where they found wrapping that matched the fireworks at his home address. In the garden shed, detectives found a red suitcase inside which they found component parts which could be combined to create an improvised incendiary device.
Furthermore, detectives also found a number of hand-written notes by Bishop with detailed information on how to make various explosive substances, as well as information on how to access the dark web. The notes were deemed to be of use to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism.
After questioning and whilst further enquiries were being carried out, Bishop was charged a week after his arrest on 5 November 2018 and subsequently pleaded guilty and sentenced for the offences above.- UK Police