Jury fails to reach verdict in Buckingham Palace terror trial

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Mohiussunnath Chowdhury appearing at the Old Bailey on June 18thImage source, Julia Quenzler
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The jury failed to reach a verdict in the trial of Mohiussunnath Chowdhury, 27, from Luton

A jury has been dismissed in the trial of an Uber driver accused of planning a sword attack at Buckingham Palace, after it failed to reach a verdict.

Mohiussunnath Chowdhury, 27, from Luton, denies preparing acts of terrorism, claiming he only wanted himself to get killed.

Mr Chowdhury drove to the palace on 25 August last year with a samurai sword, the Old Bailey previously heard.

The jury were discharged on Friday after nearly 19 hours of deliberations.

The prosecutor, Tim Cray, said he would seek a retrial.

The trial previously heard that two police officers suffered cuts to their hands as they tried to disarm and arrest Mr Chowdhury outside the royal palace.

Mr Chowdhury, of Kirkwood Road, told the Old Bailey that he was upset at the role of the UK government in arming Saudi Arabia and the deaths of innocent people in Yemen.

The jury retired to consider their verdict on Tuesday.

On Thursday, the judge told them a majority verdict would be acceptable, but on Friday discharged them after they failed to reach a decision.