'Terrorist' ex-GCHQ worker stabbed unarmed US spy in 'vicious' knife attack in Cheltenham

A former GCHQ worker called himself a “terrorist” after stabbing an unarmed US spy in a “premeditated, targeted and vicious” attack outside a leisure centre.

Joshua Bowles, 29, punched and stabbed the woman repeatedly at the centre some three miles from the UK intelligence agency’s Cheltenham base on 9 March.

In August, Bowles, of Welwyn Mews, Cheltenham, pleaded guilty to the attempted murder of the woman, referred to by the code number 99230, and assaulting a second person, causing actual bodily harm.

On Friday 27 October, he appeared in the dock of the Old Bailey to be sentenced by senior judge Mrs Cheema-Grubb. The sentencing has now been adjourned until Monday 30 October.

Prosecutor Duncan Penny KC called the incident a “pre-meditated, targeted and vicious attack on an unarmed woman”.

He told the court: “That woman was a United States government employee working in the United Kingdom.

“She was attacked by a man who was carrying two knives and she was stabbed three times outside, and in the reception area of, a leisure centre in Cheltenham.

“The attack which the perpetrator launched was intended to be lethal – that the helpless victim survived it was mere happenstance.

“Her selection as the target for this attack was entirely and solely associated with her role as a US government employee in the National Security Agency (NSA) of the United States.”

Mr Penny said Bowles, a former British employee at GCHQ, had described himself as a “terrorist” in the aftermath of the attack.

In a police interview, the defendant told police: “The target was selected for her employment at the NSA.

“Due to the size and resourcing, American intelligence represents the largest contributor within the intelligence community so made sense as the symbolic target. I consider GCHQ just as guilty.”

Mr Penny said the victim 99230 had been playing netball at the leisure centre in Cheltenham on the evening of 9 March and was leaving with a friend, who was a fellow US national identified as 25869.

CCTV footage showed the pair walking into the car park just after 9pm followed by the defendant, who had been waiting in his car with two knives in a rucksack.

The victim turned round when she heard a man say “excuse me” and was punched repeatedly in the face.

Mr Penny said she assumed she was being mugged and saw he had a knife when the blade caught the light.

The prosecutor told the court: “The defendant was punching her, and she was fighting back, concerned about the knife: kicking, punching and screaming as much as she could.”

Her friend shouted at Bowles to leave her alone and hit him with her bag while the victim tried to fight him off.

The victim said the defendant kept coming at her with the knife, saying: “He just wouldn’t stop.”

Alex Fuentes was on his way to play football and asked Bowles “what’s going on”.

The defendant responded by hitting him in the face before walking away, leaving him “in complete shock”.

The two women ran back into the leisure centre, followed seconds later by the defendant.

Mr Penny said: “The defendant attacked 99230 a second time, immediately upon entering reception. 99230 recalls him yelling but can’t remember what was said.

“The CCTV footage shows the defendant holding a knife and lunging towards 99230, who was trying to back away. She describes that ‘it felt like he hated me… his focus was me’.”

Steve Bunn, another visitor to the Leisure Centre, saw blood flowing from the woman’s mouth and down her chin and throat.

Describing the continued attack on the victim inside reception, he said: “He was on her, immediately, grabbed her and was moving around in such a way it was obvious he was trying to hit her or hurt her, he was striking at her.

“It looked like he was throwing punches or attacking her with punches.”

He grabbed the defendant, enabling the two women to move away and Bowles dropped a knife on the floor, the court heard.

Mr Bunn said the defendant was fuelled by “frenzied aggression” but it “just dissipated” once the two women had left. Asked if he was OK, Bowles said ‘no, I’ve just tried to kill her’.

While waiting for police, the defendant told Mr Bunn that he would understand what he had done if he knew what they did at GCHQ.

He said Bowles was “making out that he was disgusted by the manner in which they gather information and use things against people” and was “appalled by the agency (99230) works for”.

He remembered the defendant saying he could no longer “handle the murky waters of ethics and whether they are doing the right thing and the power that the American NSA have and the things they do. It’s a good job I didn’t have a gun, isn’t it?

“What have I done? I’ve tried to kill her. I can’t believe this They pay me all this money, I just couldn’t face the ethics of it… I make a pretty shit terrorist, don’t I?”

The court was told the female victim’s injuries included cuts to her abdomen, chest and thigh.

In a victim impact statement, she said that using the defendant’s name made her “feel sick” and brought back “awful memories”.

She said: “I now know he used to work where I work and I’m devastated by this.

“This attack has had a profound effect on me and it’s utterly and completely changed my life.

“I’ve spent a week in hospital after having emergency surgery. I had never had surgery before in my life and it was very frightening.

“Months later, my wounds are still sore. I instinctively cover my abdomen to protect it. My scars bother me.

“Following the attack, I went from being in the best shape I had ever been to being the weakest I have ever been.”

The prosecution asserted the offence had “a terrorist connection” but that was disputed by the defence.

In mitigation, Bowles’ barrister Tim Forte said his client expressed “his profound regret, remorse and shame at what he has done”.

Mr Forte dismissed the defendant’s comments as “bravado”, having realised his reasons were “petty and embarrassing”.

His twin motivations were “rejection by the object of his affections” and a desire to hurt his ex-employer “for employment reasons”, Mr Forte said.

Want a quick and expert briefing on the biggest news stories? Listen to our latest podcasts to find out What You Need To Know…