UK man convicted of attempted murder over car attack outside Parliament

A man who tried to mow down cyclists and police with his car outside the British parliament last year outside the Houses of Parliament has been found guilty of attempted murder.

Student Salih Khater, 30, aimed his car at members of the public before swerving towards the officers in Parliament Square on 14 August 2018.

The prosecutors said that it was reasonable to assume that the man had a terrorist motive.

The Old Bailey heard Khater wanted to cause maximum carnage and it was "miraculous" that no-one was killed.

He had denied two counts of attempted murder.

CCTV of the attack shows Khater, of Highgate Street, Birmingham, plough his Ford Fiesta into a pedestrian and a group of cyclists who had stopped at a red light.

He then careers into a security lane and crashes into barriers as two police officers jump out of the way.

Although the Sudanese-born British national failed to hit anyone and ended up crashing the car into security barriers outside the Houses of Parliament, his actions left several cyclists needing hospital treatment.

Khater had claimed that he had gone to London to get a visa from the Sudanese embassy, but "got lost" around Westminster and panicked.

The jury deliberated over two days before rejecting his explanation and finding him guilty.