A British teenager has been charged with terror offences after being accused of planning an attack at an Elton John concert.
Haroon Ali-Syed, 19 from Hounslow in West London, has appeared at Westminster magistrates court after being arrested last week and charged with preparing to commit acts of terrorism between April 12 and September 9. He will remain in custody before appearing at the Old Bailey next week. Syed has not yet entered a plea.
The Sun reports that Syed is accused of plotting an attack at Elton John’s show at Hyde Park in London on September 11. He is also accused of targeting other locations including Buckingham Palace and Oxford Street.
Earlier this year, Elton John was forced to deny claims of sexual harassment made by a former security guard.
Jeffrey Wenninger, who reportedly worked for the singer up to September 2014, is suing John for sexual harassment and battery following alleged multiple occasions of groping and inappropriate behaviour.
Orin Snyder, the US attorney for John’s Rocket Entertainment Group, responded with a statement that reads: “This baseless lawsuit is brought by a disgruntled former security officer seeking to extract an undeserved payment. These claims are patently untrue and contradicted by numerous previous statements made by this plaintiff. We will not give into his latest abuse of the legal system.”