A man went to Harrow firm Duncan Lewis with a knife and made threats to kill a solicitor after reading a MailOnline article on immigration, a day-long court hearing revealed yesterday.
The jury at Kingston Crown Court was told by the Honourable Mr Justice Bennathan that Cavan Medlock, 32, was not fit to stand trial on two charges: preparation of terrorist acts and making a threat to kill Toufique Hossain, director of public law at Duncan Lewis Solicitors.
The judge said: ‘This is not the most usual form of trial in these courts. Through no fault of the defendant’s own he is not fit to stand trial. There cannot be a trial in the usual way and you do not decide whether he is guilty or not guilty. What you have to decide is whether he did the acts he is charged with.’
Medlock, wearing a grey hoodie, appeared via video link and did not speak during the trial.
The jury returned a verdict after less than an hour of deliberation. Medlock was found to have acted in preparation of a terrorist acts and in making a threat to kill.
Timothy Cray KC, for the prosecution, told the jury Medlock read a MailOnline article in which Hussain was named and quoted before he went to the firm wearing a rucksack in which he had a combat knife with a 6in blade, handcuffs, three rolls of packing tape and two 5ft by 3ft flags, the Confederate flag and the Nazi flag, which ‘demonstrated extreme right wing ideology or politics’.
The court heard Medlock went to the firm’s office and asked to speak to Hossain. On being told he would need an appointment he reached into his rucksack and, holding the knife, advanced on the receptionist and demanded to see the solicitor.
The receptionist ‘scuffled’ with Medlock and eventually disarmed him before others intervened. Medlock was kept in a corner of the room making racist remarks. bMedlock said he had planned to kill Hossain 'because the solicitors’ firm had helped immigrants come to the United Kingdom and in the defendant’s view immigrants were not welcome here’.
Cray said Medlock ‘had planned to commit terrorist acts’. He added: ‘It was designed to intimidate the public particularly that section of the public of anyone that might be regarded as immigrants.’
Referring to the flags Medlock was found with, Cray said: ‘He wanted to display them as a rallying cry while he was committing violent acts against Mt Houssain. He wanted to inspire other nationalists to push back in his words “against supporters of Black Lives Matter and people who are tearing down our statues”.’’
The court heard that Medlock said he wanted to kill Hossain. He told police during his interview that he wanted to take Hossain ‘hostage by threatening him with the knife and then restraining him with handcuffs and the tape’.
Medlock’s phone, recovered from his home, showed ‘he had been conducting research on the solicitors, had found the location of their offices and done research on Toufique Hossain’. Cray added: ‘The initial trigger it seems is this article on the MailOnline.’
Hossain’s evidence was read out in court. The jury heard: ‘[Medlock] said “I have come to kill Toufique Hossain”. It was along those lines. It was addressed to me helping rats get into the country, various racist, antisemitic things were being said. He was stone cold, unemotional and looking at me with a deep hatred.
‘The defendant was then moved to a waiting room chair, he said “I should have finished the job”. I said “what job?”. He looked directly at me and said “kill this fucker”.’
Medlock will be sentenced later this week.
