Manchester Man Who Planned Attack on UK Military Base and Researched Weapons With Synagogue Terrorist Faces Major Consequences After Secret Plot Was Exposed
A Manchester man who helped carry out checks at a military base with the terrorist behind the October 2025 attack on Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue has been jailed for life.
Mohammad Asim Bashir, 31, from Cheetham Hill, was sentenced at Manchester Crown Court. He must serve at least 16 years and 135 days before he can be considered for release.
Last month, Bashir admitted preparing terrorist acts under Section 5 of the Terrorism Act 2006.
His lawyers argued that he had changed his mind after visiting the UK Defence Academy and had abandoned the planned attack.
The investigation began after Jihad Al-Shamie attacked the Heaton Park synagogue in October 2025. Counter-terrorism officers examined Al-Shamie’s phones and discovered that Bashir was a close associate who shared his extremist beliefs.
WhatsApp messages between the two men showed them talking about preparing for “war.” The messages also contained antisemitic comments.
Investigators found that on August 14, 2025, Bashir and Al-Shamie made a ten-hour round trip to the UK Defence Academy in Shrivenham. Bashir drove for most of the journey while Al-Shamie recorded information about security at the military site in a phone document called “espionage.”
The two men later got rid of the phones they had used for their research. However, investigators recovered information stored online from Al-Shamie’s devices. It showed searches for weapons, possible targets and people connected to the Israeli military.
Police also found CCTV footage and audio recordings of the pair discussing plans for an attack. This evidence was used in the case against Bashir.
During the sentencing hearing, prosecutors described Bashir as a committed jihadist who had held extremist beliefs for a long time.
Greater Manchester Police Chief Constable Sir Stephen Watson has also apologised after revealing that officers missed an opportunity to examine important evidence on Al-Shamie’s phones.
Sir Stephen said the force could only reveal the information after the criminal case against Bashir had ended.
Al-Shamie had been arrested twice in 2025 over separate criminal allegations, and police seized his phones on both occasions. However, officers did not examine the contents of the devices before the synagogue attack.
An internal police review later found that the phones contained important evidence showing Al-Shamie’s extremist mindset. Sir Stephen admitted that failing to examine the information earlier was a serious missed opportunity that would likely have led to further investigation.
However, he said it was not yet possible to say whether examining the phones would have prevented the attack. The Independent Office for Police Conduct and the coroner’s inquests will consider whether the police failure affected what later happened.
Sir Stephen apologised to the victims, survivors and the wider Jewish community for the additional pain caused by the revelation.
He said Greater Manchester Police would fully cooperate with the independent investigations and promised that the force would be open and accept responsibility for its actions.
