‘It was miraculous that nobody was killed or seriously injured’ says Met officer after Kevin Rees is sentenced at Old Bailey
Terrorist: ULEZ bomber Kevin Rees has been given 15 years in jail
“Who radicalised him?” LBC presenter James O’Brien asked yesterday as news broke of the 15-year sentence for terrorism offences handed down to ULEZ bomber Kevin Rees.
The severity of the sentence for the 63-year-old retired electrician may have surprised some.
It may also have alarmed others, such as Croydon South’s Tory MP Chris Philp and Croydon’s failed Mayor, Jason Perry, who in 2023 were part of an anti-ULEZ group on Facebook that publicised destruction and vandalism to public infrastructure, and never condemned it.
This included the destruction of expensive ULEZ cameras, the very act which will see Rees spending many years behind bars.
Rees was sentenced at the Old Bailey yesterday, after he was found guilty of detonating explosives on Wellesley Avenue, Sidcup, at about 6.45pm on December 6, 2023.
That explosion damaged cars, vans and houses more than 100 metres away, with shrapnel hitting the outside of a child’s bedroom.
Rees, of Harcourt Avenue, Sidcup, was convicted in January of causing an explosion likely to endanger life.
Rees’ case was investigated by Counter Terrorism Policing London.
Broadcast reaction: LBC’s James O’Brien cutting to the quick as usual
Judge Anthony Bate, who delivered the sentence, ruled that the offence had a “terrorism connection”, resulting in a tougher sentence and stricter controls after Rees’ release.
Rees was also ordered to serve an additional year on licence.
He was also sentenced to serve three years’ imprisonment in relation to three counts of possession of prohibited weapons – stun guns. He will serve that sentence concurrently.
Officers found that Rees used a metal cylinder filled with explosive powder to make his explosive device.
“It was miraculous that nobody was killed or seriously injured in the large explosion caused by Rees,” said Detective Chief Superintendent James Derham, who leads local policing in Bexley.
“He showed a complete disregard for the welfare and safety of the people who live in, or were travelling through, the area at the time of the explosion – all because he was unhappy with the ULEZ scheme.
“CCTV from a bus travelling down the road at the time shows how it narrowly missed the blast of debris by seconds.
Anti-ULEZ: the Met found that Rees was a member of Facebook groups not dissimilar to the one managed by Croydon Tory Jason Perry
“The conviction and sentencing have been possible due to the commitment and professionalism of our CTP London Detectives, supported by our frontline policing colleagues in Bexley.
“I hope this sends a very strong message of the dangers and consequences of using home-made explosives. This particular incident demonstrates the very serious consequences for those responsible when taken to this extreme.”
During Rees’ trial at Woolwich Crown Court, the jury heard how Rees had travelled in his Smart car from his home in Sidcup to Shuttle Close shortly after 6.20pm on the night of the bombing in December 2023.
“The ULEZ camera was installed earlier that day, but in a completely unrelated incident had been cut down by another individual, who was also identified and convicted by the same investigation team,” according to the Met.
Rees walked the short distance from his car to the camera and then planted the device and lit a fuse. He was then seen by a witness walking quickly away from the scene. The explosion damaged a van opposite and blew out the tyre of a nearby car. Shrapnel was also fired through a passing car into the bottom of a passenger seat.
The explosion damaged a nearby wall, front porch, shed and Wendy house.
A piece of metal was also carried more than 100 metres and damaged the window frame of a child’s bedroom. Despite the extensive damage, nobody was injured.
Rees was arrested on December 18, when his home was searched. Among the items found was a sealed postal package addressed to Rees containing aluminium powder, as well as a plastic bag with a quantity of iron oxide – both of which can be used to form low explosive compositions.
Suspect device: the explosion from Rees’ bomb blew a hole through the side of this van
“Further items were found in his loft which indicated Rees’s interest in chemicals that could be used to create explosives,” the Met said.
Detectives also analysed Rees’s social media activity and found he had posted numerous times about ULEZ cameras and encouraged the damaging of them.
The detectives found a photograph on his phone taken on December 6 of the camera in Willersley Avenue being installed. He deleted that photograph on December 7.
Officers identified screenshots on his device of Facebook posts on December 6 related to the explosion, and a photograph taken in Willersley Avenue after the explosion when the emergency services were present. He deleted all of those on December 8.
Read more: Guilty plea by anti-ULEZ vandal could put Perry in the dock
Read more: Tory minister is member of online group that salutes vandals
Read more: Perry’s Facebook group hosted video by Islamophobic ‘comic’
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