Policeman jailed 7yrs for raising false terror alarm

A police officer who sparked a nationwide terrorism alert by making a false terror alarm 999 call to his own force has been jailed for seven years.

PC Amar Tasaddiq Hussain made an anonymous call to West Midlands police warning that a terrorist with links to Syria was planning to kidnap a Muslim police officer.

Handing down the sentence at Stafford crown court on Friday, Judge Michael Chambers QC criticised the 29-year-old officer for showing no remorse and pleading not guilty in the face of overwhelming evidence

The court was told Hussain and two other Birmingham men hoped the 999 call on 8 December 2014 would discredit an official at an Islamic community group, of which they were members.

Hussain, and his accomplices, Adil Bashir, 26, and Muhammad Ali Sheikh, 31, were all convicted of two counts of conspiracy to pervert the course of justice.

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Jurors heard that the conspiracy prompted police commanders to put a hostage negotiator on standby and order substantial inquiries into the supposed terror plot. During the 24-hour alert, which only ended with the arrest of an innocent man, armed police units were deployed to the home of an off-duty officer who did not answer an emergency roll call.

The judge said Hussain, who was suspended on full pay after his arrest and faces dismissal at a hearing next month, is “the last person who ought to be serving”.

He told Hussain that he had caused chaos and anxiety to his colleagues and enormous difficulties for his force.

The judge said: “It’s quite clear you abused your knowledge of the 999 system and police procedures for your own ends. It is also clear you were prepared to say any lie to avoid your guilt despite what was overwhelming evidence.”

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