Woman who plotted Westfield Isis attack on 7/7 anniversary has sentence cut due to 'good character'

A British woman who wanted to carry out an Islamic State (Isis) inspired terror attack on the anniversary of the 7/7 bombings on Westfield has had her sentence cut due to 'good character' while another jihadist had his shortened because of his age. Sana Khan, 24, was plotting to attack either the Westfield shopping centre in Shepards Bush or the London Underground in 2015.

Brustholm Ziamini, 19, a Muslim convert who was said to be "within hours" of executing a Lee Rigby-style beheading in East London, saw his sentence slashed from 22 to 19 years. A judge said this was down to his "youth" despite him being caught with a knife and hammer in a rucksack.

Khan was jailed for 25 years in December 2015 for preparing terrorist acts alongside her then-husband Mohammed Rehman — who was jailed for life with a minimum of 27 years. The pair were rumbled after buying the bomb-making equipment on eBay, testing a bomb in his back garden before Rehman asked his Twitter followers "Westfield shopping centre or London Underground?".

Rehman even recorded a "martyrdom video" in preparation of his plans whilst his wife used payday loans to buy 11kg of fertiliser to make explosives. The couple, from Reading, were said to be just days away from completing the construction of an explosive device that would have caused multiple casualties.

But on 17 May at the Court of Appeal she had her sentence reduced by two years by Lord Chief Justice for England and Wales, John Thomas, who took into account her "good character". Delivering the verdict he said according to the Mirror: "She was determined to fulfil Islamic State's cause for jihad by the carrying out of an act of terrorism within the UK. She had provided funds to [Rehman], knowing the purpose for which he was using them."

In her previous hearing at The Old Bailey in December, Justice Jeremy Baker said that he believed Khan had "full knowledge" of her husband's terror plot and took a "full and active part in encouraging and planning [it]."

Explaining the reduction of Khan's sentence, Lord Thomas referred to her "previous law-abiding life", adding: "Taking into account her previous good character and her role in contrast to that of Rehman, the appropriate minimum term should have been 23 years." Prosecutor Tony Badenoch QC told the court during their trial that the pair were behind "an advanced plot to manufacture and detonate a substantial explosive device in a crowded and confined public space".

Ziamani, from Camberwell, was arrested in August 2014 after researching the location of barracks. After his arrest he told police that he planned to pose with a severed head and an Islamic flag for a "trophy" image.

Despite that, Lord Thomas said: "Given his youth, we consider that the custodial part of the sentence, namely 22 years, was too long".