Lab Bomb Plot Trial Postponed until New Year

A Judge today agreed that the trial of a man accused of threatening to blow up a St Helens laboratory should be delayed until January.

Jean Claude Rubagire appeared at Liverpool Crown Court today (Monday, October 12) where he was due to stand trial over a security alert at Alfred H Knight on Prescot Road on March 5 this year.

The trial, which had been listed to begin today and expected to last more than two weeks, was dramatically adjourned until January next year pending a psychiatric report requested by the prosecution.

Witnesses had been braced to give evidence this week, but face a further delay of several months.

Dressed in prison regulation blue shirt and grey sweater, Rubagire, who is from Africa and is currently in Walton Prison, clutched a stack of papers as he listened intently to the proceedings.

The 35-year-old, who has been in custody since March, is charged with threatening to kill by detonating a bomb. He also denies a further charge of causing a bomb hoax.

Judge Bryn Holloway extended his custody time, which had due to expire tomorrow this month until February 1.

For the full background to the story updated live on the day these events unfolded see our post here

Jean Claude Rubagire is set to face court after denying a series of charges in connection with a major security alert at Alfred H Knight on Prescot Road on March 5 this year.

The high-profile incident saw a tense six hour stand off, involving armed police, the bomb squad and more than ten fire engines.

It is alleged Rubagire walked into the factory equipped with a utility belt made to look like an explosive device.

The 35-year-old, who has been in custody since he was arrested in March, has denied the accusations levelled against him.

At an earlier hearing, the accused, who is from Africa, entered a plea of not guilty to a charge of threatening to kill by detonating a bomb that would cause carnage and risk the lives of two men and a woman at the firm’s metal sampling laboratories in Grange Park.

He also denies a further charge of causing a bomb hoax.

A two-week trial is scheduled to begin on Monday.