Police charge man with terrorism after he was arrested at Leeds hospital

A 27-year-old man has been charged with terrorism and other offenses after he was found with a suspicious device in the premises of a Leeds hospital last week.

Mohammed Farooq, from Leeds, was charged with preparing a terrorist act and possessing an explosive substance and an imitation firearm, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said.

Farooq will appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Friday, the CPS added.

Emergency services were called to St James’s Hospital last Friday after a suspicious package was found outside the maternity wing. Some people were evacuated from the area.

“We are satisfied that there is currently no evidence of an increased risk to the public, our communities or the UK hospital sector in relation to this investigation,” James Dunkerley, head of the North East’s Counter-Terrorism Police, said in a communiqué.

Dunkerley said further investigation since Farooq’s arrest confirmed an initial assessment that it was an isolated incident.