Man jailed for Paisley mosque fake bomb scare

James Palmer left a homemade fake bomb outside the mosque after the London Bridge attack

A man who left a fake bomb outside Paisley Central Mosque in "retaliation" for the London Bridge terror attack has been jailed for 32 months.

James Palmer, 31, admitted making a home-made bomb after watching news coverage of the atrocity on 3 June.

The following evening, he left a blue plastic bag on the steps of the mosque.

It contained two gas canisters, taped together with wire and wood, and a handwritten message which read: "Youse are next, defo."

Eight people were killed in London when three men drove a van into pedestrians on London Bridge.

In the chaos that followed, the terrorists launched knife attacks in nearby Borough Market.

Paisley Sheriff Court heard the attack was responsible for Palmer's drunken decision to make a bomb of his own and scare Muslim worshippers during Ramadan prayers.

CCTV appeal

Palmer last month admitted a charge which stated that he "did place at the entrance/exit doors a package with the intention of inducing in some other person a belief it was likely to explode or ignite and thereby cause personal injury or damage to property."

His crime was also "aggravated by religious prejudice".

Palmer, who is from Paisley, was captured on CCTV and a media appeal was launched to help track him down.

A friend saw the image and contacted Palmer who handed himself in.

He told officers: "I'm the guy that put the bomb at the mosque'."

Palmer acknowledged his stupidity and added: "I was out of order."

Alcohol problem

Defence solicitor Rhona Lynch told the court Palmer has a serious alcohol problem and described the device he created as a "fairly pathetic".

She added: "This was undoubtedly very frightening and unpleasant for those at the receiving end, although those who found it worked out very quickly it was not anything to be worried about in terms of their personal safety."

Ms Lynch asked for leniency for Palmer and said he could be dealt with by way of a community-based sentence.

But Sheriff David Pender ruled there was no alternative to a custodial sentence.

Sentencing Palmer to 32 months, he told him: "We all worry about terrorism - those who work and live in this country and go abroad worry about terrorism, that we could be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

"This sort of behaviour doesn't help the situation - it has the potential to create significant tension in the community and the potential to create division."