ABOVE: Prince Harry's security is said to have been beefed up since the attack in Woolwich last month
He walked into a west London police station alone the day after Woolwich,
A soruce
A WHITE Muslim convert who planned to kidnap and murder Prince Harry is facing up to ten years in jail.
Ashraf Islam, formerly known as Mark Townley, was arrested just hours after Drummer Lee Rigby’s murder.
Police later found a laptop belonging to Islam showing internet searches for “kidnapping”, “guns” and “vans”.
His internet history also revealed he’d been on terrorist and firearms websites.
Two
days after his arrest in London, Islam, born in Northern Ireland, was
rushed through court in a sparsely-attended Saturday hearing where he
admitted threatening to kill Harry, the third in line to the throne.
The
charge – under section 16 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861 –
is reserved for the most serious “threats to kill” cases and carries a
maximum ten years imprisonment.
He
was remanded in custody by Uxbridge magistrates, west London. Islam,
30, is believed to have become a Muslim following a recent spell in
prison.
A date has yet to be fixed for sentencing.
A source told the Daily Star Sunday the evidence was “overwhelming” that he was “of the terrorist type”.
The searches on his computers left “no doubts” how serious the threat was, according to the source.
And
other sources have told us Prince Harry – a prime terror target because
of his Afghanistan service – has been given extra SAS protection.
At
the moment it is not known whether Islam, who has a colourful
background as a fraudster, was simply a lone extremist or part of a
wider network.
“He walked into a west London police station alone the day after Woolwich,” said a source.
And it was there that he told police he was going to kill Harry, 28.
The charge against him shows how police feared “that the said threat would be carried out”.
In
2008, Islam appeared in court in Liverpool under his birth name of Mark
Townley after conning former soldiers out of hundreds of pounds.
A judge gave him a suspended prison sentence and banned him from England and Wales for two years.
That year he was also accused of a modelling scam that netted him £750,000.
In around 2010, he was said to have “ingratiated himself” with a Muslim group and travelled throughout the Middle East.
When he returned he handed himself in to answer fraud and theft charges.
His
name change to Ashraf Islam is believed to have come about during or
shortly after a stint in Maghaberry prison in Lisburn in 2011.
A
newspaper report last August said the “notorious local fraudster” from
Bangor, County Down, had reinvented himself as a “part-time” Muslim
working in the porn industry.
Collared by reporters, he spoke openly about picking and choosing parts of Islam he liked.
He said: “I believe I should have multiple wives.But there are aspects of Islam that I don’t follow.
“Many Muslims wouldn’t agree with the fact I take part in adult films and photographs but it works for me.”
He
wrote a book last year, telling reporters: “I have a lot of raw energy,
passion and rage and now I know it’s better to channel that in to my
writing and poetry rather than looking for someone to beat up.”
After Islam’s most recent arrest numerous web pages linked to him have been taken down.
Last night we were unable to reach his solicitors for comment.
He is believed to be in London’s Wormwood Scrubs Prison.
A Met Police spokesman said there was no date yet for sentence over the May 23 offence.
He
said: “Ashraf Islam, 30 years old, of no fixed abode, was charged with
threats to kill HRH Prince Harry, contrary to section 16 of the
Offences Against the Person Act 1861.
“He
appeared in custody at Uxbridge Magistrates Court on Saturday, 25 May,
and pleaded guilty. He was remanded in custody for sentencing on a date
to be fixed.”
According
to sources Harry’s security has been beefed up since Drummer Rigby’s
murder in Woolwich on May 22 and he is being accompanied 24/7 by two
armed SAS men.
Security
services are said to have picked up “chatter” that the royal Apache
pilot ace is being targeted by al-Qaida sympathisers in Britain.
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