- Brustholm Ziamani was arrested carrying knife and hammer last August
- Had been previously questioned over extremist posts online, jury told
- In one exchange heard in court, he said he wanted to 'do harm' to Cameron
- He also put posts on Facebook supporting Sharia law, Old Bailey heard
On trial: Brustholm Ziamani, 19, was arrested while carrying a 12-inch knife and a hammer and said he would 'harm' David Cameron if he had the chance, the Old Bailey heard today
A teenage Muslim convert accused of planning to behead a British soldier told police he would 'harm' Prime Minister David Cameron if he had the chance, a court heard.
Brustholm Ziamani, 19, was arrested in East London last August carrying a 12-inch knife and a pick hammer wrapped in an Islamic flag after boasting how he was going to 'kill soldiers'.
He was previously questioned by counter-terror police over extremist posts he made online after an earlier arrest last June, his trial at the Old Bailey heard today.
In an exchange from one interview read to the jury, he said he would 'do harm' to the Prime Minister if he had the opportunity.
He was asked by officers to confirm what he had said in a previous interview, in which the tape recorder had broken.
The officer said: 'What would you do if you saw David Cameron and had an opportunity? You said you would do him harm if he had no security around?'
Ziamani replied: 'Yes'.
He also put posts on Facebook under the name Mujahid Karim supporting Sharia law and stating he was 'willing to die in the cause of Allah', the jury heard.
A letter written by Ziamani to his parents in which he talked about being martyred and also the murder of Fusilier Lee Rigby in Woolwich in May 2013 was also discussed in the interviews.
He told police he ‘didn’t disagree’ with the brutal murder of Lee Rigby and felt it was justified because ‘he had taken part in killing innocent Muslims in Afghanistan’.
DC David Atkinson of the Counter Terrorist Command, who stopped Ziamani on the street, told the court he was wanted by police because he had been posting messages on Facebook that encouraged terrorism.
DC Atkinson said when he stopped the 19-year-old, he found a large knife and a hammer in his possession.
When the knife and hammer were discovered, Ziamani allegedly told officers: ‘You haven’t asked me what they are for.’
He was interviewed at Walworth police station in the presence of his solicitor and said he was upset about the system and the way nothing was being done.
Ziamani said he was angry Muslims were being so laid back and not doing anything about it.
In court: The jury heard he also put posts on Facebook under the name Mujahid Karim supporting Sharia law and stating he was 'willing to die in the cause of Allah'. Above, a court sketch of Ziamani made yesterday
Ziamani boasted he was part of the Islamic State of Ireland and Britain in a chilling five-page letter to his parents.
In the letter for his Christian family he had turned his back on, he boasted that he planned to ‘do a 9/11 and 7/7 and Woolwich all in one day’.
He warned: ‘You want war you got it. British soldiers heads will be removed and burned, u cannot defeat the Muslims. We love to die the way you love to live.’
Ziamani told HMP Wandsworth security officer Paul Morris he was on his way to behead a British soldier when he was arrested.
He said that he had been arrested and he was on his way to an army barracks, he didn’t say where, and said he was going to behead a British soldier
HMP Wandsworth security officer Paul Morris
He also boasted of knowing one of Lee Rigby’s murderers, Michael Adebolajo, and Muslim hate cleric Anjem Choudary.
‘He said that he had been arrested and he was on his way to an army barracks, he didn’t say where, and said he was going to behead a British soldier and hold his head in the air while a friend unknown was going to photograph him doing so,’ Mr Morris told the jury.
‘He was very, very calm. Very matter of fact.’
Mr Morris had gone to Ziamani’s single-occupancy cell alone for a ‘welfare visit’ and to see how radical or extreme he may be, the court heard.
The guard offered him a chance to see one of two Imams at the prison, the jury heard.
‘He said he had already met an Imam, had a disagreement with him and said his ideology would not be changed by anyone, Mr Morris said.
‘We were just having a general chat. He was very polite, very respectful to be fair.
‘He told me he was arrested by police with weapons in his rucksack I believe,’ the officer continued.
‘He said he knew Michael Adebolajo,’ Mr Morris said, adding: ‘He said he loved him and also said he used to hand out Islamic leaflets in Greeenwich with him as well.’
Copycat: Ziamani's 'ambition' was to allegedly carry out an attack like one one in Woolwich by extremists Michael Adebolajo and Michael Adebowale, left and right, who killed Lee Rigby, the court heard yesterday
Asked if he was worried, Mr Morris replied: ‘I was very concerned. He just seemed so calm, so direct in the way he described.
‘He said there’s nothing I can do to help him. There’s nothing we can do to change his ideology.’
Ziamani also asked about Belmarsh prison where his ‘real brothers’ were and said he knew members of Islamic group Al-Muhajiroun, known as ALM and mentioned Anjem Choudary, the court heard. The prison guard said he offered Ziamani help in the form of a mentor.
‘Mr Ziamani was not interested. He said “my ideology will not be changed by anybody,’ he added.
The court has previously heard he researched the location of army cadet bases in the south east of the capital.
Ziamani denies planning a terrorist attack.
The trial continues.
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