Man jailed for plot to behead British soldier has sentence reduced

A man jailed for hatching a plot to behead a British soldier has had his sentence reduced.

Five judges quashed the original term of 22 years imposed in the case of Brusthom Ziamani.

Inspired by the murder of Fusilier Lee Rigby, Ziamani was arrested on an east London street carrying a knife and a hammer in a rucksack.

Ziamani, now 20, was found guilty at the Old Bailey in February last year.

The court was told that he had researched the location of Army cadet bases in the south east of the capital. He had shown his ex-girlfriend weapons, described Fusilier Rigby's killer Michael Adebolajo as a "legend" and told her he would "kill soldiers".

Announcing the court's conclusions Lord Thomas said:

His offending was towards the "very top of the scale" for offences under Section 5, "but, given his youth, we consider that the custodial part of the sentence, namely 22 years, was too long", Lord Thomas added.

Ziamani's sentence was reduced to 19 years.