Man jailed for plotting to bomb Morden mosque after becoming 'fixated' with Manchester attack victim

Steven Bishop was jailed for four years on Wednesday
Metropolitan Police
Megan White10 April 2019
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A man who plotted to bomb a Morden mosque after becoming fixated on the youngest victim of the Manchester Arena attack has been jailed for four years.

Steven Bishop, 41, stockpiled fireworks and researched instructions on how to build explosives while researching other terror attacks.

Mr Bishop, from Thornton Heath, had repeatedly searched for memorials to the youngest victim of the Manchester Arena attack - eight-year-old Saffie-Rose Roussos.

He commented "god bless little Saffie" on a Facebook video called "Standing for Britain" which featured some of the victims of the Manchester attack, adding: "Don't worry something bad is going to happen soon mark my words."

Mr Bishop had stashed fireworks in his home which had been tampered with
Metropolitan Police

When police raided Mr Bishop’s sheltered accommodation, they found fireworks that had been tampered with, along with fuses, a remote control and igniter.

It was raided by counter-terror police on October 29 last year after he showed his key worker images of objects he said he was collecting to make a bomb.

A firing device was also delivered to his address two days after his arrest.

Bishop was handed four years for possession of explosives, two years concurrent for possession of terrorist documents, plus one day concurrent for breach of a conditional discharge.

Jailing him for four years on Wednesday at Kingston Crown Court, Judge Peter Lodder QC said: "The detonation of one or more of these fireworks at Morden mosque may have risked the lives of those nearby.

File photo: He had become fixated on Saffie Rose Roussos, 8, who died in the attack

“The incendiary effect of one or more of these fireworks could have caused significant damage to the building and nearby infrastructure."

"It is submitted that you are so far out of your depth that it is absurd and that the mosque was never truly in danger.

"In that context you are contrasted with a determined and dedicated terrorist. But terrorist acts are not limited to those who do not have similar vulnerabilities to you.

"I am satisfied that count one is properly deceived as connected to terrorism.

"The seriousness of the offending is reduced by your medical history, but I do not find that your condition at the time of offending was substantially reduced by mental disorder or learning disability."

Other items, including fuses and a remote control, were found at his home
Metropolitan Police

A search of his phone uncovered two VPN apps, designed to disguise online activity, which were used to research explosive detonators and the Morden mosque.

Following the search of his flat, Mr Bishop told officers he was "really upset" about the Manchester attack, adding: "All I was saying is I think it would be justice if someone did to them what they do to us."

The court heard that Bishop's psychiatric disorders include paranoid schizophrenia, ADHD, autism spectrum disorder, a possible learning difficulty and drug abuse.

He has 18 previous convictions including for racially aggravated common assault.

Timothy Forte, for Bishop, argued that his client's actions were driven by his fixation on Saffie-Rose and not by far-right ideology.

Mr Forte described Bishop's plan to target Morden Mosque as an act of "transferred malice" by an "unstable drug addict".

The court heard Bishop's benefits had recently been increased to £1,500 but he had otherwise been left largely to his own devices, leading to an increase in his drug abuse.

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