A mother and daughter who formed Britain’s first female terror cell were jailed for a total of 22 years yesterday for ‘a Mad Hatter’s tea party’ plot.
Rizlaine Boular, 22, hoped she would be shot dead by police during a planned attack on random members of the public around the Palace of Westminster.
She was spurred on by her mother Mina Dich, 44, and sister Safaa Boular, 18, who were secretly recorded by MI5 discussing an ‘Alice in Wonderland party’ – code for a deadly knife rampage.
Judge Mark Dennis QC said Dich played a significant role in radicalising her daughters and took Rizlaine to buy knives in preparation. He jailed the Morocco-born mother for six years and nine months plus five years on extended licence after she admitted helping her children carry out the ‘wicked’ plot.
Police swooped on the day of the planned attack on April 27 last year, the Old Bailey heard. Rizlaine was jailed for life with a minimum term of 16 years after pleading guilty to preparing acts of terrorism.
The mother of one was shot three times by police during her arrest. Safaa will be sentenced at a later date after she was found guilty of preparing terrorist acts.
Judge Dennis said the attack was imminent and was thwarted only by the timely intervention of the police following a major surveillance operation.
MI5 had bugged the Boular family home – a social housing flat next to the MI6 building on the Thames.