British man gets five years for plot to kill Blair

Convicted man urged England's Muslims to rise up against the prime minister

Published June 24, 2010 1:59PM (EDT)

International Mideast envoy Tony Blair, center, visits the Kerem Shalom crossing, between Israel and the Gaza Strip, southern Israel, Tuesday, June 22, 2010. Israel announced Sunday an easement of its blockade on the Gaza strip saying it will allow almost all items into Gaza, except for weapons or weapons-related materials that could boost the area's militant Hamas rulers. Previously, Israel had issued only a narrow list of items to enter Gaza. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit) (AP)
International Mideast envoy Tony Blair, center, visits the Kerem Shalom crossing, between Israel and the Gaza Strip, southern Israel, Tuesday, June 22, 2010. Israel announced Sunday an easement of its blockade on the Gaza strip saying it will allow almost all items into Gaza, except for weapons or weapons-related materials that could boost the area's militant Hamas rulers. Previously, Israel had issued only a narrow list of items to enter Gaza. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit) (AP)

A man who urged British Muslims to join a plot to assassinate former British prime ministers Tony Blair and Gordon Brown is being jailed for five years.

The 24-year-old Ishaq Kanmi attempted to recruit people for his murder campaign using an assumed identity and by falsely claiming he led an al-Qaida-linked terrorist group in Britain.

But prosecutors told Manchester Crown Court that Kanmi's group was fictitious and he had no links to al-Qaida. Labour leaders Blair and Brown had supported the U.S. invasion of Iraq.

Judge Colin Crichton Mackay said Thursday that Kanmi had won support for his bogus plot to kill in 2008.

Kanmi pleaded guilty to inviting support for a terror group and possessing material likely to be useful to a terrorist.


By Associated Press

MORE FROM Associated Press


Related Topics ------------------------------------------

Terrorism