GCHQ terror: 'Incel' who stabbed US spy jailed for life for attempted murder
Joshua Bowles plotted to murder the US spy outside a Cheltenham leisure centre after he was rejected for a permanent GCHQ job
A former GCHQ worker who attempted to murder a US spy in a terrorist attack because of a grudge against the Secret Services has been jailed for life.
Joshua Bowles, 29, ambushed the woman outside a leisure centre in Cheltenham, stabbing her three times in a determined pursuit through the car park and into the reception area.
The Old Bailey heard Bowles had plotted the attack after failing to secure a permanent job at GCHQ, the listening post for Britain’s intelligence community.
Bowles, dubbed a “terrorist” by the prosecution, had been living the life of an ‘incel’ while unemployed, unable to find a girlfriend, and depressed, the court heard.
He harboured "deep disaffection with society and a desire to challenge authority", as well as "anger" towards women, said the judge, who also took into account his diagnosis of Asperger's and a depressive disorder.
