Muhammad Basher jailed for life with 17-year minimum over UK Defence Academy terror plot
Sky News reports the life sentence with a 17-year minimum handed to Muhammad Basher at Manchester Crown Court for assisting a terror plot targeting the UK Defence Academy. Basher and friend Jihad Al-Shamie conducted reconnaissance in August 2025; Al-Shamie later carried out the lone October 2025 knife-and-vehicle attack at Heaton Park Synagogue, killing two before being shot dead by police. The segment includes the judge's remarks on Basher's radicalization, CCTV and phone evidence of anti-Semitic planning, and a detailed correspondent update on the pair's shared extremist WhatsApp group. It covers Greater Manchester Police Chief Constable Sir Stephen Watson's apology for not examining Al-Shamie's seized phones from prior arrests, which contained evidence of the earlier plot. An interview follows with Mark Levy of the Jewish Representative Council of Greater Manchester, who discusses community impact, the apology, and calls for broader societal action against antisemitism.
Source: Sky News
