A black Muslim convert who planned to behead a soldier had been radicalised by Britain’s most notorious hate preacher just weeks before

Brustholm Ziamani, 19, fell under the spell of Islamic cleric Anjem Choudary and his followers in April 2014 and became obsessed with the killers of Fusilier Lee Rigby. Months after joining the Muslim preacher’s banned terror group al-Muhajiroun (ALM), he underwent a dramatic transformation that culminated in him wandering the streets looking for a serviceman to execute in a Woolwich-style killing. As Ziamani was found guilty of arming himself with a hammer and a 12-inch knife for the copycat attack, Britain’s most senior counter terrorism officer said that the case illustrated how quickly disaffected young "Britons" could be radicalized. Police and MI5 consider the plot to be one of the most serious to have threatened Britain since the escalation of the Syrian conflict. Known to his friends as Bruce, Ziamani was raised a devout Jehovah’s Witness by his Congolese parents.