A homegrown terrorist considered launching a mass gun attack on the late Queen’s funeral after converting to Islam in prison, a court has heard.

Edward Little, 22, rejected the plan as “too late” and instead decided to target a Christian preacher at Speaker’s Corner in London’s Hyde Park, the Old Bailey heard.

He discussed his plans including his desire to get hold of a Mac-10 submachine gun and AK-47 assault rifle with extremists in encrypted chats on the Threema messaging platform.

At one point, he wrote: “I don’t think there has been an attack in the UK with guns so a semi-automatic rifle would send a even stronger message.”

On September 18 last year, Little identified the Queen’s funeral – due to be held at Westminster Abbey the following day – as a possible target.

It was suggested that “tyrants of the earth” would be there, to which Little responded: “I was just thinking that but unfortunately it’s too late.”

Days later, on September 23, Little was arrested en route to buy a gun for £5,000 having taken a taxi from Brighton to London.

Little, from Pelham Street, Brighton, pleaded guilty to preparing acts of terrorism and appeared at the Old Bailey on Monday by video-link from HMP Full Sutton in Yorkshire.

Opening the facts of the case against him, Duncan Penny KC said: “The defendant is an Islamic extremist who planned to murder the Christian preacher Hatun Tash at Speaker’s Corner in Hyde Park.

“The defendant planned to murder those who were with Hatun Tash, and any police officers or soldiers who were in the area.”

UK-born Little was said to have converted to Islam at Cookham Wood Young Offender Institution in Kent and at HMP Deerbolt in County Durham, after he turned 18.

Last summer, he downloaded extremist propaganda including copies of the al-Qaida publication Inspire.

In his chats on Threema, he referred to Hasham Tash as an “evil witch” and said he could shoot her “point blank” and “everyone with her”.

He suggested that with the money he had and his ability to get more weapons he “should strike a bigger target”.

He spoke of wanting to buy a Mac-10 “so I can spray it at them and then use pistol for police”.

But he added that the “problem with the macs is that they are too quick and it runs out very quik”.

Little said he would wear a camera so he could live-stream the attack.

On September 17, Little revealed that he “100%” had a “brother in prison” who would be joining in the “operation”.

He said he would travel to London for reconnaissance and see if it was best to “have us hit separate targets”.

On September 23, Little agreed to pay a taxi driver £300 to take him from Brighton to Lewisham, south London, saying money was no problem.

On his arrest, he was carrying a rucksack with £5,000 in cash, a passport and two mobile phones.

Little declined to answer questions in police interviews but his mood changed when he was shown a YouTube view of the preacher.

He launched himself from his chair across the table at an officer, swinging repeatedly with his fists before being restrained.

He went on to admit assaulting the officer at Newbury Police Station last September 28 and was sentenced to eight months in prison.

At the hearing on Monday, Little also pleaded guilty to causing grievous bodily harm with intent to a fellow inmate at Belmarsh prison on April 3.

Little attacked the victim with boiling water mixed with sugar and two razor blades for “disrespecting” his religion.

The defendant had been convicted of 14 offences in seven separate cases, including for robbery, having a knife and drug dealing, dating back to 2017.

Mrs Justice McGowan adjourned sentencing to a date to be fixed for a report to be prepared on Little’s future risk and for him to be given the opportunity to attend court in person.

Read more: The Queen’s Speech: The Counter-Terrorism Implications

A father whose two sons died fighting in Syria has been found guilty of encouraging violent jihad in a speech at his local mosque.

Abubaker Deghayes, 53, promoted “jihad by sword” when he addressed worshippers at the Brighton Mosque and Muslim Community Centre.

The defendant, who originally comes from Libya, had denied intending to encourage terrorism in his speech to around 50 people, including children and young adults.

On Wednesday, a jury at the Old Bailey found him guilty of the charge.

It can now be reported that two of Deghayes’ sons were killed fighting for Islamists in Syria and he lost a third in a stabbing in the East Sussex city.

Abdul – who had become embroiled with drugs and was murdered by a dealer in 2019 aged 22 – was the twin brother of Abdullah, who was killed fighting in Syria in 2016 aged 18.

Their brother Jaffar, 17, was killed in 2014 while trying to overthrow Bashar Al-Assad’s government.

Amer, another son and former finance student, who also travelled to Syria, is understood to be continuing to fight for the cause.

During his Old Bailey trial, jurors were played a video of Deghayes’ speech at the mosque on Sunday November 1 2020.

In it, he was seen to make a stabbing gesture when talking about jihad.

He told worshippers: “Whose power is more powerful than us? Allah is more powerful than you. You, idiots. You kuffar (non-believers)… The non-believer is an idiot. He’s stupid.”

He went on: “Jihad, jihad, jihad. Jihad is compulsory. Jihad is fighting by sword. That means this jihad is compulsory upon you, not jihad is the word of mouth but jihad will remain compulsory until the Day of Resurrection…”

Prosecutor Ben Lloyd told jurors that the speech was not given “innocently or naively”.

He said: “The prosecution case is clear. By the defendant’s words and gestures he was encouraging people to undertake violent jihad.

“The defendant’s speech demonstrates him to be an Islamic extremist. He is someone who believes in the use of violence in the cause of Islam.

“Or, at the very least, he was reckless in giving his speech as to whether people would be encouraged.”

The defendant, of Saltdean in East Sussex, denied wrongdoing, saying he was explaining the meaning of Jihad by the sword as self-defence.

The gesture he made was a “dance of the blade”, he claimed.

He also referred to Prime Minister Boris Johnson as wearing a face covering now after describing Muslim women as “letter boxes”.

The jury was told nothing about the Deghayes family background.

In 2017, a serious case review identified missed opportunities to prevent Deghayes’ sons from being radicalised before they were killed in Syria.

There was also little understanding of the part religion played in the lives of Abdullah and Jaffar, who were believed to have been with the al Qaida-affiliated Al-Nusra Front when they died, the review added.

The report also contained allegations that their father would wake his children up at 4.30am to study the Koran and would whip them with electrical wire or hand out other punishments if he felt they were not doing this properly.

After the review, their uncle Omar Deghayes – who was arrested in Pakistan in 2002 and spent five years in Guantanamo Bay – hit out at police, claiming they took “no action whatsoever” while his radicalised young nephews were being racially abused.

Following Deghayes’ conviction, he was granted continued bail ahead of sentencing at the Old Bailey on February 25.

The father of two British teenagers killed fighting for Islamists in Syria has told of his “great shock” at losing a third son in a stabbing.

Abdul Deghayes from Brighton died in the early hours of Sunday morning after he was attacked in a car that had crashed, Sussex Police said.

The 22-year-old was found just before 9.30pm on Saturday in the passenger seat of a silver Volkswagen Polo, which had crashed into other cars.

He had a “number of stab wounds” and died from his injuries at the Royal Sussex County Hospital in the city, a force spokesman said.

Speaking to Press Association, his father Abubaker Deghayes said: “As a family we are in mourning. It is a great shock.

“Adul was very popular with his friends. He loved Brighton a lot. He was a cheerful guy.

“We just know he was found in a car, there was a lot of blood and he was brought to hospital.

“They tried to keep him alive and he died in the morning. I don’t know exactly what happened. We are still waiting for more information.

“I can’t even think of who would take such a step to do this to Adbul.”

Abdul – who was jailed in 2017 for drug dealing – is the twin brother of Abdullah who was killed fighting in Syria in 2016 aged 18.

Their brother Jaffar, 17, was killed in 2014 while trying to overthrow Bashar Al-Assad’s government.

They are survived by fourth brother, Amer, a former finance student, who also travelled to Syria where he is understood to be continuing to fight the cause.

Speaking to Press Association from Syria, he said he did not want to discuss his brother’s death but described him as someone who “stood up for the weak”.

Elm Grove, where the attack took place, remained cordoned off on Sunday afternoon.

A large team of forensics investigators wearing white suits arrived on the scene and have been inspecting the road leading up to a row of cars and as well as searching underneath vehicles.

Fire crews have also arrived and have started to search drains.

Chief Inspector Andy Bennett appealed for witnesses to come forward and

said: “We are trying to establish the exact circumstances of what has led to this young man’s tragic death.

“We are aware the car was in collision with other vehicles shortly before he was found to have suffered these injuries, which we are satisfied were caused maliciously and not as a result of the collision.”

A serious case review published in 2017 found professionals missed opportunities to prevent the two teenage British Muslims being radicalised before they were killed after travelling to fight in Syria.

There was “no recognition” Abdullah, Jaffar and their three siblings were becoming vulnerable to radicalisation in Brighton, the report said.

There was also little understanding of the part religion played in the lives of Abdullah and Jaffar, who were believed to have been with the al Qaida-affiliated Al-Nusra Front when they died, the review added.

After the review their uncle Omar Deghayes – who was arrested in Pakistan in 2002 and spent five years in Guantanamo Bay – hit out at police claiming they took “no action whatsoever” while his radicalised young nephews were being racially abused.

The report also revealed the family had been the subject of racial abuse for more than a decade – with Omar’s detention thought to be a factor.

The publicity around his release appeared to have sparked a persistent and prolonged campaign of racial hatred, according to the report.

It said they were targeted by organised right wing groups and at one point the message “Behead all Muslims” was daubed in 12 inch-high letters near their former home in Saltdean near Brighton.

Asked if police are considering whether the attack on Abdul was racially motivated, a spokesman said: “At this stage of the investigation there is nothing to suggest that this is a hate crime but we are keeping an open mind at this time.”