Associate of Manchester synagogue attacker pleads guilty to helping him perform reconnaissance on UK Defence Academy

Published: 19:34, 5 June 2026 | Updated: 19:36, 5 June 2026 An associate of the Manchester synagogue killer has pleaded guilty to driving the terrorist on a reconnaissance trip to the UK Defence Academy, two months before he launched a vehicle and knife attack. Mohammad Asim Bashir, 31, a delivery driver from Cheetham Hill, Manchester, was accused of helping radicalise Jihad al–Shamie and assisting him to commit acts of terrorism by driving him for a hostile reconnaissance on August 14 last year. He drove Shamie's car on a ten–hour round trip from Manchester, despite being uninsured, and the pair spent 13 minutes in the area of the Defence Academy in Oxfordshire before returning. He appeared in the dock at the Old Bailey wearing a grey prison–issue tracksuit and with a large beard and spoke only to enter his plea. Jonathan Polnay KC, prosecuting, told the hearing that the charges were amended to include an intention 'either to commit an act of terrorism himself or assist Jihad al–Shami.' Jihad al–Shamie, 35, a Syrian–born British citizen, drove his black Kia Picanto into a security guard outside Heaton Park synagogue in Crumpsall, Manchester at 9.30am on October 2, last year before stabbing to death Melvin Cravitz, 66. Al–Shamie, from Prestwich, Manchester, was wearing a fake suicide vest and was shot dead by armed police as worshippers barricaded themselves inside the synagogue. A stray bullet killed Adrian Daulby, 53, who was among those preventing the attacker from getting inside. Mohammad Asim Bashir, 31, a delivery driver from Cheetham Hill, Manchester, was accused of helping radicalise Jihad al-Shamie and assisting him to commit acts of terrorism by driving him for a hostile reconnaissance on August 14 last year Mohammad Asim Bashir (pictured), 31, drove Shamie's car on a ten–hour round trip from Manchester, despite being uninsured, and the pair spent 13 minutes in the area of the Defence Academy in Oxfordshire before returning Bashir, a dual British and Pakistan citizen, left the country to travel to Pakistan with his family two days after the attack and returned on November 27, when he was arrested at Manchester Airport. ANPR and financial data showed that Bashir drove from Manchester to the UK Defence Academy. Sally–Anne Russell, prosecuting, told an earlier hearing that the hostile reconnaissance was made 'with a view to carrying out a terrorist attack similar to that seven weeks later.' Bashir 'holds extreme Islamic ideology and believes violence in that cause is justified and obligatory,' she added. 'He was involved in attempting to radicalise other individuals including al–Shamie.' Shamie and Bashir had become friends two years earlier when they met at a mosque, the court heard. Bashir had changed his phone and deleted all the data but some data was recovered from a phone in an arrest months earlier which showed he shared a mindset with Shamie. 'From the conversation we can see both men had an Islamic extremist mindset and both considered going to Syria to commit acts of terrorism,' Ms Russell said. Shamie set up a Whatsapp group called 'Aspiring to the Ranks of the Elite' on September 7 2024, a year before the attack, which had twelve participants. Synagogue attacker Jihad Al–Shamie (pictured) died in the attack on the Heaton Park Synagogue Court artist sketch of Mohammad Bashir appearing at the Old Bailey in London Bashir shared three videos of Anwar al–Awlaki, an al–Qaeda ideologue, encouraging those in the West to stop making excuses and carry out acts of terrorism. 'It is clear Awlaki was a source of interest to Shamie before the Manchester attack and demonstrates the real world implications of sharing such online information,' Ms Russell said. Between November 2024 and January 2025, Shamie and Bashir sent each other voice notes discussing their wish to go to Syria to cause 'serious damage' and fight for the mujahideen. Shamie stated that he was 'fed up of this life and this city.' On November 18 2024, the pair discussed setting up a gym for themselves and Shamie said they should get strong and be 'war ready.' Bashir said: 'Ameen, I'm gonna get on it. Then I'm gonna call out the biggest Jews to scrap.' Having decided to launch attacks in the UK, Shamie made Google searches in the days leading up to the journey to the UK Defence Academy including 'worst Islamic terrorist attacks UK' and 'reconnaissance.' Bashir was also accused of three charges of disseminating terrorist publications in a Whatsapp messaging chat – a series of lectures called 'The Book of Jihad,' and further videos called 'Obstacles in the Path of Jihad' and 'Virtues of Martyrs' in November and December last year. All are lectures by Awlaki who was killed in a US drone attack in Yemen and the charges are expected to lie on file. Bashir will be sentenced in July. No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. 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