Teenager Brusthom Ziamani arrested on way 'to behead soldier' said he would 'harm' David Cameron if he had the chance

Ziamani was arrested in London in August

A sketch of Brusthom Ziamani appearing via video link at the Old Bailey, London, in December (PA)

A Muslim convert accused of plotting to behead a British soldier told police he would "harm" Prime Minister David Cameron if he got the chance, a court has heard.

Brusthom Ziamani, 19, was carrying a hammer and a knife wrapped in an “Islamic flag” when he was arrested in London in August.

Prosecutors allege that Ziamani, from Camberwell in south east London, was on his way to a military base.

His trial at the Old Bailey on Tuesday heard that he was questioned several times by counter-terror police following a previous arrest in June last year over extremist messages he posted online.

In an exchange from one interview read to the jury, he was asked by officers to confirm what he had said in a previous interview when the tape recorder had broken.

The officer asked: "What would you do if you saw David Cameron and had an opportunity? You said you would do him harm if he had no security around?"

Ziamani replied: "Yes".

The interviews also mentioned a letter written by Ziamani and addressed to his parents in which he discussed being martyred and the murder of Fusilier Lee Rigby in Woolwich in May 2013.

The jury yesterday heard that he idolised Rigby's killer Michael Adebolajo.

At one point Ziamani told police in June that he felt that Rigby's death had been "overdramatised to the next level" by the media and the government, the court heard.

Annabel Darlow, a lawyer for the prosecution, told the jury on Monday that Ziamani told police that he had been on the way to kill a soldier at an army barrack when he was caught.

“He said that he was going to behead the soldier and hold that soldier's head up in the air so that a friend could take a photograph with the severed head of the soldier,” she added.

He denies a charge of preparing an act of terrorism on or before August 20 last year.

The court has previously heard he researched the location of army cadet bases in the south east of the capital.

He is also alleged to have told an ex-girlfriend that Adebolajo was a "legend" and told her he would "kill soldiers".

The jury heard he also put posts on Facebook under the name Mujahid Karim supporting Sharia law and stating he was "willing to die in the cause of Allah".

Additional reporting by PA