Terror plotter who planned Hyde Park shooting loses appeal against sentence

A homegrown terrorist who planned to shoot a Christian preacher in London’s Hyde Park has had an appeal against his sentence dismissed at the Court of Appeal.

Edward Little was jailed for planning to attack preacher Hatun Tash, who regularly appeared at Speaker’s Corner, but was arrested on his way to buy a gun in south London and later pleaded guilty to preparing acts of terrorism.

The now-23-year-old was originally sentenced to life with a minimum term of 16 years in December 2023, which was then increased to 24 years in January 2024.

On Tuesday, his barrister told the Court of Appeal that his sentence should be reduced, as a shorter jail term would be “more appropriate to the offending”.

But Lord Justice William Davis, Mr Justice Griffiths and Judge Simon Drew KC dismissed the appeal, stating that the sentencing judge, Mrs Justice McGowan, “was entitled to conclude that the deadly use of the gun was very likely”.

Little’s sentencing hearing at the Old Bailey was told that he converted to Islam at Cookham Wood Young Offender Institution in Kent and at HMP Deerbolt in County Durham after he turned 18.

In 2022, he downloaded extremist propaganda including copies of the al-Qaida publication, Inspire, with Lord Justice William Davis stating on Tuesday that Little claimed online that the terrorist organisation had “assigned him as one of their top brothers”.

UK-born Little, formerly of Brighton, had expressed a desire to acquire a gun and planned to kill Ms Tash, whom he described in online chats as an “evil witch”.

Prosecutors also claimed that he planned to kill police officers and soldiers in the area at the time of the attack.

The court heard that Little settled on the plan after rejecting a mass gun attack on the late Queen’s funeral in Westminster, but was arrested by armed police while in a taxi to London to buy a gun with £5,000 in cash in September 2022.

Three men were later jailed for between 10 and 13 years at Inner London Crown Court for admitting being party to a plot to sell Little a gun, although it was accepted they did not know it was for a terror attack.

Tom Godfrey, for Little, told the Court of Appeal on Tuesday that he had not undertaken any “reconnaissance” at Hyde Park, and said: “It is not a case in which multiple deaths were risked, and were very likely to be caused.”

He continued: “I don’t belittle the seriousness of the offending. It was plainly very serious and warrants significant punishment, but that can be met properly by re-categorising this offence to one that is more appropriate to the offending.”

Little, who also has convictions for grievous bodily harm, robbery, drug dealing and other offences, was not in attendance at the hearing.