Briton accused of trying to kill a woman he thought was a spy

MISE À DAY

A 29-year-old man was brought before a judge in London on Thursday, charged with attempting to kill a woman because he believed she worked for one of Britain's intelligence agencies.

Joshua Bowles is accused of stabbing the victim, whose identity was not released during this hearing at Westminster Court in London, but referred to as number 99230.

The attack took place last Thursday outside a leisure center about 5km from the headquarters of Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), an intelligence agency in the town of Cheltenham, west of England.

The victim is in hospital in a stable condition.

The investigation, which led to this charge of attempted murder, is being carried out by the counter-terrorism police.

According to prosecutor Kathryn Selby, this attack was “planned” and should therefore be dealt with in accordance with the rules governing ac your terrorists.

“The defendant chose his victim because he thought she worked at GCHQ and because he had an opinion on the work they do (at this agency)” , she claimed.

“He attacked the victim, because, in his mind, she represents the state,” she added, without confirming whether the victim was working well for this British intelligence agency.

The head of the counter-terrorism police for the south-east area, Olly Wright, urged the public not to “speculate on the specific circumstances surrounding this incident”.< /p>

Joshua Bowles remains in custody until the next hearing, scheduled for March 31.