Salih Khater, 30, deliberately ploughed his Ford Fiesta into a pedestrian and cyclists at a red light on August 14, 2018. He then attempted to mow down two police officers at 30mph on August 14 last year. On Monday, Khater was given a life sentence with a minimum term of 15 years for attempted murder at the Old Bailey.

Prosecutors said the incident looked to be terror motivated.

But the Sudanese refugee claimed he was lost and the indicnet was an accident.

Dramatic CCTV footage showed Khater’s car ramming into the commuters in central London.

His vehicle then careereed into a security lane, before crashing into barriers as two police officers jumped out of the way.

During the trial at the Old Bailey, the jury heard how the student wanted to cause maximum carnage .

They said it was “miraculous” that no-one was killed.

Khater went to Peterborough and unsuccessfully applied for a fast-track UK passport the day before the incident.

He then drove from Birmingham to London and arrived just after midnight.

Evidence taken from his mobile phone showed he had looked up maps for 10 Downing Street and Westminster on the internet as potential “deliberate targets”.

Defending, Peter Carter QC told the court Khater remained an “enigma” and he had still not offered an explanation for what he did.

He told the judge: “Had there been any evidence of any link between this man and a terrorist organisation or terrorist individual or had there been any connection that he had expressed any interest in or showed any desire to pursue any link to terrorism it would have been before your ladyship. There is not.

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“The lack of evidence is not a proper basis for drawing a conclusion there is evidence of a terrorist connection.”

But Mrs Justice McGowan found Khater had deliberately copied other terrorists.

During sentencing, she said: “Your undoubted intention was to kill as many people as possible and by doing so spread fear and terror.”

CCTV captured Khater arriving in Parliament Square just before 1am and driving around Westminster, checking the layout for the attack five or six hours later.

He then parked up and rested for four-and-a-half hours in Soho before returning to Parliament Square for further reconnaissance.

He went on to do four laps of the square before launching the rush-hour attack, accelerating into cyclists stopped at traffic lights and then crashing into a police barrier at more than 30mph.

Pedestrian Paul Brown was crossing the road when Khater’s car “came out of nowhere” and hit him, causing bruising and grazes.

Krystof Tokarski and Anya Breen were cycling to work and were waiting at traffic lights when Khater revved his engine and knocked them down.

Mr Tokarski suffered grazes and a broken little finger while Ms Breen was thrown over the bonnet, fracturing her collar bone.

During the trial the court had heard how Khater was born in Sudan and was granted asylum in Britain in 2010, after claiming he had been tortured in his home country.

He had failed his accountancy exams at the University of Coventry and his work as a security guard had dried up.

This is a breaking story. More to follow…

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