A college drop-out who sought revenge for his uncle's death in Syria has been convicted of preparing to attack Downing Street and kill the PM.

Naa'imur Rahman, 20, was convicted at the Old Bailey after he was trapped in a major undercover operation involving the FBI, MI5 and police.

Rahman approached officers posing online as fellow extremists, asking them for help with an attack.

He met two and repeatedly asked for bombs - leading to his conviction.

Rahman admitted trying to help another man leave the UK to join Islamic State group fighters - and Mr Justice Haddon-Cave told him he would be sentenced later.

How did the plot develop?

Last summer Rahman was homeless in London after falling out with both his mother in the city and close relatives in Walsall, where he grew up.

Three years ago he was referred to the national deradicalisation scheme, Channel, amid concerns that the-then teenager could be brainwashed by his uncle.

When he was investigated last year over an allegation of sexting with an underage girl, intelligence emerged from his phone that he had maintained contact with his uncle.

How would he attack Downing Street?

On 6 November last year, Rahman laid out his final plan to "Shaq" - a recording of it was played in court.

"I have drawn up a plan, gone through it in detail in my head. You know at the gate of Downing Street? There are about four men innit? And two men on the door?

"I want to get past that gate and if I can get to the door I want to make a dash for Theresa May. She sleeps there every night."

Shaq asked Rahman to elaborate on how he thought this was possible.

"If I have a backpack with stuff inside and I do that at the gate and I get past the gate... a 10-second sprint to the door."

"I'll be honest with you," replied Shaq. "I've never looked at it."

"I wanna drop a bag at the gate, so the gate blows up a bit and I can go through and then like, make a run, like I was thinking taking a human hostage until I get to the actual door.

"Grab a human shield and then once I get close enough to the door, I'll do what I can with them to get inside."

"You're trying to get to Number 10," asked Shaq. "That's your main objective?"

"Take her head off, yeah," replied Rahman.

Rahman said he couldn't fund the attack because he was "broke and homeless" - but he handed over a jacket and a rucksack, asking for both to be filled with explosives.

Shaq returned the items with a fake bomb in the bag and the jacket filled with supposed explosives.

Rahman took both off him and said: "Do you know? Now I've seen everything it feels good."

As he walked away from the scene he was surrounded by police, arrested, and later said: "I'm glad it's over."

Did he really intend to attack?

Rahman told his trial that none of his plans was serious. When he made contact with men whom he thought were his uncle's comrades in Syria, he had begun showing off, making up schemes to impress them.

He told jurors that one fantastical proposal had been to build balloons to drop missiles from the edge of space.

Rahman claimed he had been set up and tricked by MI5 and the police.

But prosecutors showed that Rahman had carried out extensive reconnaissance of Downing Street, Parliament and nearby government buildings.

The jury had to be convinced that Rahman had seriously intended to attack Downing Street and had taken the first steps along that course. (BBC)

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