Al-Qaeda terrorist jailed for plotting an airport attack got job as Serco binman after release

An al-Qaeda terrorist jailed for planning an airport atrocity got a job as a binman, a court heard. Andrew Rowe, 50, disclosed his criminal record to his bosses but did not tell police as required.

He became an HGV driver for Hammersmith and Fulham council with Serco through a recruitment agency in August 2019. Rowe drove nine different vehicles on 31 different occasions, the Old Bailey was told.

But terrorists must tell police at least three days before they are put in charge of a vehicle. Islam convert Rowe, of St John’s Wood, North London, admitted breaching notification requirements.

Catherine Oborne, defending, claimed: “He was trying to make something of his life.” But Judge Angela Rafferty QC jailed Rowe for ten months and told him: “This was a deliberate decision not to notify the police.

“These requirements are of the utmost importance to keep the public safe from terrorism.”

In 2003, raids on Rowe’s home found a handwritten guide to firing battlefield weapons, a code sheet plus videos of 9/11 and Osama Bin Laden. Rowe, dubbed a Mujahideen warrior, was convicted in 2005 of possession of an article for terrorist purposes and codes.

They referred to “airports, airline crews, explosives, firearms, army bases and three targets”.

It was revealed he had visited Islamist hotspots to learn terror techniques. He was jailed for 15 years, reduced to ten on appeal. Rowe was also in breach of a suspended sentence imposed in March 2019 when he admitted a £5,000 benefits scam.

Source: The Sunday