Juror at ‘terror plot’ trial, Lawrence Archer, criticises handling of case

Published: 16 July, 2010
by JOSH LOEB

A JUROR at the trial of an Islington man currently being held under virtual house arrest two hours outside London has written a book that he hopes will help free him.

Ricin! The Inside Story of the Terror Plot That Never Was, by Lawrence Archer, tells the story of the so-called “ricin trial” of 2005, at which five men connected through Finsbury Park Mosque were charged with plotting to manufacture the toxic chemical ricin for use in a terror attack. 

Four of the five, including Mustapha Taleb of Highbury, were acquitted. However, despite never being found guilty of any crime, Mr Taleb has suffered severe restrictions on his movement ever since.

He was detained in Long Lartin prison, Worcestershire, for 56 months and is currently under a control order, having been deemed a threat to national security by the Home Office. He is also facing deportation to his home country of Algeria.

Mr Archer said:  “When the ricin trial finished I was prepared to disappear into the background. Then I found out that the four men who had been acquitted were scheduled for deportation to Algeria. 

“I thought it was out of order considering what they had been through. They had been assured they would be given asylum, they had been cleared of any involvement in terrorism and Algeria has a pretty bad human rights record.”

Restrictions placed on Mr Taleb by the Home Office – he must wear a tag, his movements are monitored and he is only allowed out of the house for a set number of hours a day – were made ­possible by new laws introduced after the terror attacks in America on September 11, 2001.

Mr Archer’s book – co-written with freelance journalist Fiona Bawdon and barrister Michael Mansfield QC, and due to be published in September – also accuses the UK government of using discredited evidence to push through tougher anti-terror laws. 

Mr Archer concedes there was some evidence of a terror plot centring on Finsbury Park in 2002. However, he describes it as “a ham-fisted kitchen sink job,” saying: “There was a lot of smoke and mirrors. It seems a couple of people had been trying some­thing in a disorganised manner, but the government behaved like there were hundreds.”

Mr Taleb’s case has been taken up by Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament activist Bruce Kent, who has been visiting him for the past six years.

There is no absolute ban on jurors publishing books about trials they have been involved in, but it is believed that Mr Archer’s book will be only the second such account to be published in the UK. 

Former jurors are permitted to talk about evidence presented at trials they have served on, but are barred from giving details of deliberations.