A former clinical support worker has been sentenced to life in prison for a terror plot against an NHS hospital and an RAF base in Yorkshire.
Mohammad Sohail Farooq, 29 and from Leeds, was given a minimum of 37 years behind bars after planning to bomb the city’s St James’ Hospital, and RAF Menwith Hill near Harrogate.
“It was an extremely difficult time for staff and patients”
Phil Wood
Farooq, who was working as a clinical support worker at St James’ at the time, was found on hospital grounds in the early hours of 20 January 2023 in possession of an improvised bomb, knives and a fake gun by inpatient Nathan Newby.
The jury at Sheffield Crown Court was told that Farooq had wanted to “kill as many nurses as possible”, the BBC reported.
Mr Newby spoke to Farooq and managed to calm him down before calling police, who arrested the hospital worker.
Investigations into Farooq found that he had been radicalised online by Daesh, a terrorist organisation also known as Islamic State.
He was charged with plotting an act of terrorism, possession of explosives with intent to endanger life or property, possession of an imitation firearm and possession of documents that could be useful in preparing acts of terrorism.
After pleading guilty to the firearms, explosives and terrorism material charges, Farooq then went on trial last July for the charge of preparing for an act of terrorism. A jury found him guilty after three weeks of hearings.
In March 2025, the former hospital worker was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum custodial term of 37 years.
Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust chief executive Professor Phil Wood said the sentencing would allow the organisation to “move on” from the events of January 2023.
“It was an extremely difficult time for staff and patients, and I remain immensely proud of the calm and professional way in which they responded on the day to keep everyone safe,” he said.
“I would again like to thank the police for their support during the incident and throughout the investigation, and I am extremely grateful to Nathan Newby for his courage and initiative that morning.”
Detective superintendent Paul Greenwood, head of investigations for Counter Terrorism Policing North East, said the sentence “reflects the seriousness of Farooq’s actions and the intent that led him to St James’s that morning”.
“Farooq came dangerously close to harming innocent people,” he added.
“Thanks to the bravery of Nathan Newby he never fully realised his plans and has instead been forced to face the long-term consequences of his extreme ideology and deep-seated grievances.”
