Attack on Adil Raja, Shahzad Akbar planned in a chat group: sources

LONDON: The four people charged with attacking Shahzad Akbar and Adil Raja operated through a social media chat group, controlled by two people, where the planning to harm Akbar and Raja was made and executed last year on December 24, December 31, and January 10, 2026, sources have told Geo News.

The four men charged so far are Louis Regan, Karl Scott Blackbird, Clark Anthony McAulay and Doneto Brammer. Three of them — Karl Scott Blackbird, Clark Anthony McAulay and Doneto Brammer — appeared before Westminster Magistrates’ Court here wearing tracksuits and showing no tension at all.

All of them have criminal pasts and, between them, they have convictions for over 40 offences, according to public information. The three men not only took part in attacks but also filmed their actions and shared the attack videos in the same chat group — including to a very important number yet to be traced by investigators, sources said.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) told the court that Karl Scott Blackbird and Clark Anthony McAulay, between the 21st day of December 2025 and the 25th day of December 2025, conspired together with others to assault Adil Raja and occasion him actual bodily harm; Karl Scott Blackbird, between the 21st day of December 2025 and the 25th day of December 2025, conspired together with others to assault Shahzad Akbar and occasion him actual bodily harm; Doneto Brammer, on the 31st day of December 2025, without the authority of the Secretary of State, had in his possession a firearm, namely a revolver, and conspired together with others to damage by fire a dwelling house belonging to Shahzad Akbar, intending to damage such property and intending to endanger the life of Shahzad Akbar; and Louis Regan, 25, has been charged with conspiracy to assault and occasion bodily harm at Adil Raja’s address in Chesham on December 24, 2025, and conspiracy to assault and occasion bodily harm at Shahzad Akbar’s home in Cambridge on December 24, 2025.

These charges relate to an ongoing investigation by Counter Terrorism Policing London into incidents taking place in December 2025. The victims in this case are Shahzad Akbar and Adil Raja, who are vocal in their opposition to the current Pakistani regime.

According to police sources, a further suspect — “Suspect 1” — was arrested at around 1am on Friday, January 23, 2026, in Birmingham and remains in detention. He is believed to be the ringleader of the group but has not been charged.

Karl Scott Blackbird and Suspect 1 attended the home addresses of both victims, evidenced by Karl Scott Blackbird’s mobile telephone cell sitting at both locations, according to sources. Police sources said Louis Regan was directly involved in attacks on the homes of Adil Raja and Shahzad Akbar on December 24.

At around 8am on December 24, Karl Blackbird went to Raja’s home address. It is alleged that he was with Clark McAulay, whose face was partially concealed. They repeatedly knocked on his front door. One of the men filmed what was happening on his mobile phone. The door was not answered, as Raja was not present at the time.

According to police, at 8:08am on December 24, 2025, a male wearing a high-visibility coat, an orange helmet, red gloves and a white Covid mask attended the home address of Shahzad Akbar. The prosecution alleges that this male was Suspect 1; sources said he is in police custody. The male rang the doorbell. When Akbar opened his front door, he was asked by the male, “Are you Shahzad Akbar?” When he confirmed this, he was attacked. He was struck multiple times to the face with closed fists. Akbar fell to the ground, but the attack continued. The attacker recorded the attack on his mobile telephone, according to police and Akbar.

At around 4pm on December 31, 2025, Akbar’s property was again targeted when Shahzad and his family were away, having left just five minutes earlier. CCTV showed that two masked men approached the property. One of the males was slim in build, while the other was larger in build; the prosecution alleged that this was Doneto Brammer. Shahzad Akbar said the slimmer male was armed with a loaded firearm, a revolver, and had a mobile phone in his hand to record the entirety of the incident. The other man was in possession of a piece of white paper material and a lighter — he tried to cause arson. The slimmer male fired three shots from the firearm into the ground-floor front window of the property, causing the glass to smash.

Sources said police seized several phones and burner phones from the suspects, which showed that Clark McAulay and Karl Blackbird were connected to Suspect 1. Several phones seized showed that the group operated through a chat group with Suspect 1 and an unidentified person whose identity is not known. The group shared videos of the attacks, sources said.

According to publicly available information, all three have convictions. All have been remanded into custody until mid-February.