A former restaurant owner in Great Yarmouth has told a jury he intended to sabotage a planned gun attack on Jewish people, as part of his defence to terrorism charges.
Walid Saadaoui, 38, is alleged to have been involved in planning a terrorist attack targeting a Jewish gathering in Greater Manchester. Prosecutors at Preston Crown Court claim he unknowingly revealed his plans to an undercover operative posing as a member of Islamic State.
Saadaoui, originally from Tunisia, moved to Clacton-on-Sea in Essex in 2012 before relocating to Norfolk six years later. He opened the Albatross restaurant in Great Yarmouth after saving money while working in a holiday park.
It was during his time in Norfolk in 2017 that Saadaoui says he met a Syrian man, referred to as Person A, outside a Norwich mosque. He described how their relationship, initially stemming from sympathy and financial assistance, turned menacing.
Saadaoui said he gave Person A £120 for a flight to Syria to reunite with family and later sent more money when Person A claimed to be badly injured and needed hospital treatment.
However, Person A allegedly threatened him, stating: “I am one of the mujahideen. I have got your name on record. You sent me money… You are finished.”
In 2019, Person A visited Saadaoui’s restaurant, demanding £3,000 in what Saadaoui described as an “Islamic tax.” From then, Saadaoui claims Person A manipulated him, forcing him to share extremist content online.
Saadaoui told jurors he fled his successful business in Great Yarmouth in the summer of 2023 to escape Person A’s control. He started a new life in Wigan with his wife, Michelle, and their two children.
However, Saadaoui alleges that Person A tracked him down and pushed him further into the unfolding plot.
Saadaoui was arrested in May 2024 at a hotel car park in Bolton, approaching a vehicle containing firearms and ammunition.
He claimed he had planned to destroy the weapons and set up a meeting with others involved before calling police to arrest them. Asked if his intention was to sabotage the attack, Saadaoui responded: “Yes.”
Saadaoui, of Abram, Wigan, and co-defendant Amar Hussein, 52, of no fixed address, deny preparing acts of terrorism. Saadaoui’s brother Bilel Saadaoui, 36, of Hindley, Wigan, also denies failing to disclose terrorist activity.
The trial continues, with cross-examination of Walid Saadaoui scheduled for 20th November 2025.
