Ilyas Akhtar, 20, has pleaded guilty to collecting parts and obtaining instructions to build an improvised explosive device and to visiting Victoria Barracks in Windsor. He admitted these charges at the Old Bailey but denies separate arson allegations relating to attacks on 14 and 31 May in Slough. A trial on the remaining counts is set for 19 October 2026 at Woolwich Crown Court, and he was remanded into custody.
Man pleads guilty to assembling bomb parts after visiting Windsor barracks
Ilyas Akhtar, 20, has pleaded guilty to collecting parts and obtaining instructions to build an improvised explosive device and to visiting Victoria Barracks in Windsor. He admitted these charges at the Old Bailey but denies separate arson allegations relating to attacks on 14 and 31 May in Slough. A trial on the remaining counts is set for 19 October 2026 at Woolwich Crown Court, and he was remanded into custody.
02:47 AM, 11/15/2025Security
Man pleads guilty to assembling bomb parts after visiting Windsor barracks
Ilyas Akhtar, 20, of Slough, Berkshire, has admitted collecting components and obtaining instructions to build an improvised explosive device, and visiting Victoria Barracks in Windsor as part of those preparations. He entered the guilty pleas at the Old Bailey on Friday.
Prosecutors told the court that between July 2024 and May 2025 Akhtar accessed instructional material and gathered parts intended for use in a homemade bomb. He appeared at the hearing via videolink from Belmarsh Prison and denied a number of other allegations.
The outstanding charges relate to alleged arson attacks at Slough Ice Arena on 14 May and at Salt Hill Activity Centre on 31 May. A trial on those remaining counts is listed to begin at Woolwich Crown Court on 19 October 2026.
Mrs Justice Cheema‑Grubb remanded Akhtar back into custody. No further details were disclosed at the hearing.
Background
The Old Bailey is the Central Criminal Court in London; Belmarsh is a high-security prison. Reporting is focused on the admitted explosives-related offences and the scheduled trial for the separate arson allegations.