Lyrical Terrorist: Heathrow Employee by Day...

Terror poet by night.

A worker at Heathrow airport who called herself the “lyrical terrorist” wrote a poem entitled How to Behead and another on martyrdom, a court was told yesterday.

Police discovered the poems and a library of documents relating to terrorism in Samina Malik’s bedroom in Southall, West London. One document in her handwriting read: “The desire within me increases every day to go for martyrdom, the need to go increases second by second.”

Jonathan Sharp, for the prosecution, told the Old Bailey that Ms Malik, 23, liked to be known as the “lyrical terrorist” or “a stranger awaiting martyrdom”. He said: “She is a committed Islamic extremist, who supports terrorism and terrorists. She had a library of material that she had collected for terrorist purposes.”

Ms Malik, who is British born, was arrested in October last year after an e-mail that she had sent was found on another person’s computer. When her bedroom was searched police found a ringbinder full of documents that included poems and a list of weapons, Mr Sharp said. He added that Ms Malik had joined an extremist organisation called Jihad Way, which was set up explicitly to disseminate terrorist propaganda and support for al-Qaeda.

Ms Malik denies possessing articles for terrorist purposes and possessing records for terrorist purposes.

The trial continues.

Dinah's verdict is in: Off with her lyrical head...