Abdullah Albadri had arrived in the UK on a small boat 16 days before attempting to carry out the attack

A failed asylum seeker who tried to break into the Israeli embassy in London to carry out a knife attack has been jailed for life with a minimum term of 20 years.

Abdullah Albadri was carrying two knives when police officers caught him as he tried to climb over a fence into the Kensington embassy on 28 April 2025.

The 34-year-old from Kuwait had arrived in the UK on a small boat 16 days earlier, having first entered country illegally four years earlier.

He was previously found guilty by majority verdict after a trial at the Old Bailey of preparation of terrorist acts and possession of two bladed articles.

The court heard how he was motivated to plot the attack by the death of Palestinians in Gaza and planned the attack after sleeping rough in the capital.

Albadri first travelled to the UK on a small boat in August 2021 and applied for asylum but returned to France before a decision was made.

He crossed the Channel again in April 2025 and was housed in a hotel in Basingstoke for three days, before being told he was not eligible for accommodation due to his outstanding asylum application.

On the day of the attempted attack, he walked to the west London embassy from north London wearing a red and white traditional Arabic scarf wrapped around his head and sunglasses.

The embassy is located on a street which is home to several large diplomatic buildings and has a round-the-clock police presence.

At around 18:00, he saluted in the direction of two nearby diplomatic protection officers before trying to scale a security fence.

The armed officers dragged him down from the railings and detained him.

Albadri was detained as he tried to scale a fence outside the Israeli embassy

When he was searched, police found two 10cm (4ins)-long blades and a handwritten copy of a verse titled "the benefit of martyrdom".

His trial heard how he told police: "I want to make a crime inside there. Why are you stopping me? Why are you stopping me from making crimes?"

During a later interview at a police station, he said he had wanted "to do something to stop the war".

The Old Bailey also heard evidence he may have acted in a way to force the nearby armed officers to kill him.

Prosecutor Catherine Pattison said Albadri "intended to do something that would have resulted in the sacrifice of his life".

She told the court people were leaving the embassy when he attempted to scale the fence who "would not have had any chance to defend themselves" if he had been able to carry out the attack.

Defence barrister Chris Henley said Albadri's plan "could never ever have succeeded", adding "there was no serious risk of any harm to anybody".

He said Albadri had acted in an "absurd, performative fashion" which was "deliberately designed to draw attention to himself".

Albadri had spent the morning "trying to get help" to access housing, his defence barrister told the court.

His trial previously heard he told officers "I wish you'd use that on me", and replied "I might be yeah" when asked if he was referring to a rifle.

On Monday, Mrs Justice Lambert KC sentenced Albadri to life in prison with a minimum term of 20 years.

Commander Helen Flanagan, head of Counter Terrorism Policing (CTP) London, said: "Albadri's attempt to carry out a terrorist attack at the embassy was thwarted due to the courageous and swift actions of officers on duty, who prevented him from breaching the security perimeter.

"The significant prison sentence he has received reflects the danger he posed on the day and the lack of remorse he has shown since he was arrested."

She said the Israeli embassy had "face various security alerts in recent times" and security measures were in place to "ensure the site and the wider community is kept as safe as possible".

Small boat migrant guilty of attempting knife attack on Israeli embassy