UK drops National Security Act, foreign power element in Adil Raja, Shahzad Akbar case

LONDON: The UK Prosecution Service has dropped allegations linking the UK’s National Security Act and foreign power provisions to the case of former accountability adviser Mirza Shahzad Akbar and former military officer and YouTuber Adil Raja — who were both violently attacked late last year at their homes.

The case stems from a series of coordinated attacks in late December 2025 and early January 2026 involving Akbar and Raja at their homes in Oxford and Chesham.

In the most important development so far, on Friday at the Old Bailey, the prosecution informed the judge that it was abandoning any reliance on provisions connected to the National Security Act or allegations relating to a foreign power, significantly narrowing the prosecution’s case.

The prosecution told the judge that the defendants were allegedly “hired thugs” and that the attacks had been “orchestrated”, indicating that others may have been involved in organising the alleged conspiracy.

However, when the judge asked whether the National Security Act element had been dropped because the defendants did not know they were acting on behalf of a foreign power, the prosecutor replied that this appeared to be the case.

Six of eight defendants appeared at the Old Bailey and pleaded not guilty. One defendant submitted an application seeking dismissal of the case, while another refused to attend the hearing.

Louis Regan, 26, his father Mark Regan, 53, both of Birmingham, Karl Blackbird, 41, and Liam McGarry, 26, each denied conspiracy to assault Akbar and causing him actual bodily harm.

The father and son, Blackbird, from Bedworth, and another defendant, Clark McCaulay, 39, from Coventry, also denied the same charge in relation to Raja.

Also charged is Dylan Martin, 33, who denied attempted arson on Akbar’s home, and possession of a revolver, linked to an incident in Cambridgeshire on New Year’s Eve last year.

Asid Afsar, 40, of Birmingham, and Doneto Brammer, 22, of London, who are also charged in connection with the incidents, will enter pleas at a later date, the court heard.

Akbar was assaulted at his Cambridge home after a masked man asked for him by name before repeatedly punching him, leaving him with facial injuries including a broken nose.

Around the same time, two men attempted to force entry into Raja’s home in Chesham, Buckinghamshire, although he was not present.

A week later, an attempt was also made to set fire to Akbar’s property. Because of the targeted nature of the incidents, the investigation has been led by Counter Terrorism Policing.

The decision to remove any National Security Act or foreign power element means the prosecution will no longer rely on the National Security Act 2023 or the “foreign power condition” — it will therefore not ask the jury to find that the alleged attacks were carried out for, on behalf of, under the direction of, with assistance from, or for the benefit of a foreign power.

Any state-linked aggravating element will not form part of the prosecution case.

Under section 31 of the National Security Act 2023, the foreign power condition can include conduct instigated, directed, funded or assisted by a foreign power, as well as conduct intended to benefit one.

The withdrawal may indicate that prosecutors do not consider the foreign-power allegation sufficiently supported, admissible or necessary to pursue. CPS rules require a realistic prospect of conviction on every charge or element advanced.

Both Raja and Akbar have called on the police to find the real elements behind the attacks. The police have so far found no evidence of who ordered the attacks.

All the defendants were remanded into custody. The Regans, Blackbird, McGarry and McCaulay face trial on January 12, 2027, at Nottingham Crown Court. Martin and Brammer face trial at the same court on March 8.