Multicultural British policeman and two other men charged over fake claims of a terror plot to kidnap another officer

A serving policeman has been charged over an alleged fake terror plot to kidnap a fellow officer.

Pc Amar Tasaddiq Hussain, 29, was charged by West Midlands Police with two counts of conspiracy to pervert the course of justice and two counts of conspiracy to commit misconduct in a public office.

Two other men, Adil Bashir, 25, and 30-year-old Muhammad Sheikh, both from Birmingham, have also been charged with the same four offences, a police spokesman said.

Hussain, who is based in Birmingham, has been suspended from duty with immediate effect.

He has been bailed to appear at Cannock Magistrates' Court next month alongside Bashir, who is unemployed and from Small Heath, and Sheikh, a self-employed tutor from Bordesley Green.

The charges follow an investigation into a tip-off given to West Midlands Police on December 8 last year in which it was claimed an officer was to be kidnapped as part of a terrorist plot.

The alleged hoax led to heightened security measures, which later spread across the country.

Officers at West Midlands Police were called in for special overnight briefings and advised not to come to work or go off shift in uniform after the threat was judged to be credible.

Speaking at the time, Assistant Chief Constable Garry Forsyth said the steps were prompted by 'information relating to the safety of West Midlands Police officers and police staff'.

He added: 'West Midlands Police treat all information relating to matters of security extremely seriously.  'In this particular case we have received information relating to the safety of West Midlands Police officers and police staff.  'There is nothing at this time to suggest there is an increased risk to members of the public.

'We have taken the opportunity to remind all employees of the need to be vigilant. Our priority remains serving our communities and protecting them from harm.'

The incident also prompted Scotland Yard to make its own assessment of the information received by West Midlands Police.

The subsequent investigation was led by officers from West Midland Police's Anti-Corruption Unit with support from the region's Counter Terrorism Unit.

A West Midlands Police spokesman said on Tuesday: 'At a time when the national threat level was severe, the threat was considered credible and police acted swiftly to protect officers and police staff.  'A subsequent investigation revealed that the call was false and malicious.'

A 31-year-old man arrested on the day of the alert was eliminated from inquiries and has since been deported.

In October last year the threat level to police officers across the country was raised to substantial, meaning a targeted attack is a strong possibility.

Original report here


(And don't forget your ration of Wicked Thoughts for today. Now hosted on Wordpress.  If you cannot access it, go to the MIRROR SITE, where  posts  appear as well as on  the primary site.  I have reposted  the archives (past posts) for Wicked Thoughts  HERE or HERE or here