Terror 'shopping list' leads to 15-year sentence

A man who was detained at the Channel Tunnel in October 2003 was sentenced today to 15 years in jail for two terrorist offences.

Andrew Rowe, 34, a British convert to Islam, was convicted on charges relating to having instructions on the use of a mortar launcher and secret codes written on a piece of paper.

Rowe, from Maida Vale in West London, denied the charges.

The jury was instructed that a majority verdict could be returned after they had spent a day considering their verdict on the two charges.

During the trial it emerged that socks found in Rowe's luggage had traces of explosives on them.

A police search of premises at an address linked to Rowe had uncovered a note with instructions on how to use a mortar launcher. Also found was a handwritten list of codes that were presented in court as a "shopping list for terrorism."

Sentencing Rowe today, Mr Justice Fulford told him: "Whatever your terrorist purpose was, its fulfillment was imminent."

The Judge described Rowe as a "paid operative over a substantial period of time," one who had travelled the world to further the cause of "Muslin fundamentalism."

Rowe was arrested at the Channel Tunnel following a trip to Germany in 2003.

(SP)