A former British soldier has appeared at the Old Bailey accused of an extreme far-right terrorist plot to burn down a book shop.

William Howitt, 26, of West Bridgford, Nottingham, is charged with preparation of terrorist acts.

It is alleged that on or before March 14, he “wrote a plan for conducting an arson attack and equipped himself with a glass hammer and tarpaulin with a view to carrying out an arson attack”.

The alleged target is said to be a left-wing bookshop in Nottingham.

The alleged plot was uncovered after defendant was stopped by counter-terrorism police at East Midlands on January 5.

On Friday, Howitt, who has worked in construction since leaving the Army, appeared by video link from custody at the Old Bailey for a preliminary hearing.

Mr Justice Jeremy Baker transferred the case to Birmingham Crown Court.

He said a plea hearing would take place on July 14 with a provisional trial from October 30.

The defendant was remanded into custody.

An Iraqi-Kurd man has been found guilty of planning a terror attack using a bomb in a remotely-controlled vehicle.

Farhad Salah, 24, was found guilty at Sheffield Crown Court on Friday of preparing to commit acts of terrorism.

Jurors heard that Salah posted on social media about using a driverless car in an attack. But the jury cleared his co-defendant, Chesterfield chip shop owner Andy Star, 32, who was charged with the same offence.

This is the second time Salah and Mr Star have been tried on these charges. A jury failed to reach verdicts on either man following a trial last year.

Judge Paul Watson QC told Mr Star a decision had been made that he should not face a second retrial and a not guilty verdict was recorded in his case.

He said Mr Star could go free but was informed that he will continue to be detained on immigration matters.

The judge said Salah will be sentenced on July 24. Prosecutors told the five-week trial that Salah and Mr Star were in the early stages of testing small improvised explosive devices when they were arrested in high-profile raids on their homes in a Sheffield community centre and a Chesterfield fish and chip shop in December 2017.

But Mr Star has always insisted that gunpowder and other items found in his flat above the chip shop were all connected to his long-standing interest in fireworks. Salah was found guilty on a majority of 10 to 2 after the jury deliberated for almost three days.

When the judge recorded Star’s formal acquittal, a woman shouted “Terrorist” loudly from the jury box. Counter-terror police said Salah was not close to achieving his aim of putting a device in a vehicle but officers believe he was a “very real risk to the safety of the public in the UK”.

The raids in Sheffield and Chesterfield happened in the months following the Manchester Arena explosion, the terror attacks on Westminster and London Bridge, and at a time when there were fears that another atrocity was being planned for the Christmas period.

But police said they have never been able to identify Salah’s intended target.

Opening the case, prosecutor Anne Whyte QC told the jury: “The intention was to manufacture a device which would be placed in a vehicle but controlled remotely so that no-one had to martyr themselves in the process.”

She said that, a week before he was arrested, Salah messaged a contact on Facebook saying: “My only attempt is to find a way to carry out martyrdom operation with cars without driver, everything is perfect only the programme is left …”

The prosecutor said: “Farhad Salah had decided that improvised explosive devices could be made and used in a way here in the UK that spared his own life preferably but harmed others he considered to be infidels.”

The court heard how both defendants are Iraqi nationals.

Salah arrived at Heathrow Airport in December 2014 and applied for asylum. This application had not been determined by the time he was arrested. Mr Star was arrested in 2008 on suspicion of being an illegal immigrant and later told officials he had arrived in the UK by lorry.

He was given “leave to remain” in 2010 and eventually given refugee status, with “indefinite leave to remain” in February 2016.

At the beginning of the trial, Miss Whyte told the jury that Salah was a supporter of Islamic State (IS), despite him being an Iraqi-Kurd – a nationality usually associated with the fight against the terror group.

Gunpowder, homemade fuses and explosive chemicals were found when Mr Star’s Mermaid Fish Bar, in Chesterfield, was raided by armed police and similar items were found in the Fatima Community Centre, in Sheffield, were Salah lived.

Prosecutors told the jury that the items found in the raided premises showed the pair were testing small-scale explosive devices at both locations and the primary “laboratory” was at the chip shop, but Mr Star told police and both his trials that it was just paraphernalia connected with making fireworks.

Salah, of Brunswick Road, Sheffield, showed no emotion as he was led from the dock.

A man accused of plotting a terrorist bomb attack in the UK has appeared in court charged with inciting an atrocity in Germany.

Fatah Mohammed Abdullah, 33, was arrested in December last year after he allegedly bought “explosive pre-cursors” online.

Last week, he was charged with inciting two people to commit a terror attack in Germany following a joint investigation between UK and German police.

Abdullah is said to have provided assistance and encouragement to the pair in messages using the encrypted Telegram app.

The charge, under Section 59 of the Terrorism Act 2000, states that he incited another person to drive a car into crowds, attack people with a meat cleaver, and set off bombs outside the UK between April 9 and December 11 last year.

Abdullah appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court via video-link from Belmarsh prison on Wednesday, speaking only to confirm his name, address, date of birth and that he is a British Iranian.

Deputy Chief Magistrate Tan Ikram sent the case to the Old Bailey, where Abdullah will next appear on March 1.

He is also charged with preparing an act of terrorism between April 9 and December 11 last year contrary to Section 5 of the Terrorism Act 2006.

The charge states that he bought a knife and a balaclava as well as “explosive pre-cursors”, and compiled instructions on how to make gunpowder.

Abdullah also searched online for guides on how to make explosives and for the remaining components to make an improvised explosive device (IED), such as a pressure cooker and nails, it is claimed.

Abdullah, from Arthur’s Hill in Newcastle upon Tyne, is yet to enter pleas and was remanded in custody.