"The attention he desperately wanted on 1 January is only achieved by the fact that someone believed that object could explode. The defendant attended Thames House in Millbank, knowing it to be the headquarters of the security services MI5, and deliberately created an object designed to appear as a genuine explosive device to draw attention to his immigration grievances."
"In CCTV footage shown in court, Pereira is seen stuffing paperwork about his immigration case through the doors of the building, before retrieving the dynamite from his bag. He initially throws the object to the pavement, allowing the CCTV operator to zoom in to reveal what appears to be a fuse hanging out of the top of the brown cylinder, then props it up against the MI5 HQ doors with a green cigarette lighter positioned nearby."
"Chief Magistrate Paul Goldspring concluded Pereira intended those watching to believe the device was real. The fake device was later found to be made up with rolled-up A4 paper, brown masking tape, and string, constructed deliberately to deceive observers into believing it was an actual explosive."
Julian Valente Pereira, a 32-year-old Brazilian national, was convicted of carrying out a bomb hoax at MI5 headquarters in London on 1 January. The fake device, constructed from rolled-up paper, masking tape, and string with a fuse-like appearance, was placed outside Thames House after his final asylum appeal was rejected. CCTV footage showed Pereira stuffing immigration case documents through the building's doors before positioning the object against the entrance with a lighter nearby. The prosecutor argued Pereira deliberately created the appearance of a real explosive to gain maximum attention for his complaints against the Home Office. Pereira had remained in the UK illegally since February 2019 after his work visa expired. He was remanded in custody pending sentencing scheduled for 1 April.
Read at www.bbc.com
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