Man made 'cruel and calculated' bomb hoax call to Leeds synagogue just days after Manchester terror attack

Prosecutors said Markel Ible, 32, “intended to sow panic and fear” when he called Sinai Synagogue in Roundhay, on October 6, claiming to have left a bomb there that was due to go off the following day.

The call, made from an unknown number, came four days after the attack on the Heaton Park Hebrew Synagogue in Crumpsall, Manchester.

Melvin Cravitz, 66, and Adrian Daulby, 53, died and three men were injured when Jihad Al-Shamie, 35, targeted the place of worship on the holy day of Yom Kippur, driving his car at those gathering before attacking others with a knife and trying to storm the synagogue.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said Ible, of St Martins Gardens, Leeds, was charged the day after the call was reported to police.

He pleaded guilty on October 8 to making a bomb hoax call and was remanded in custody.

On Wednesday he was jailed for 10 months at Leeds Crown Court.

Ann Graham, senior crown prosecutor for CPS Yorkshire and Humberside, said: “Markel Ible was acutely aware of the consequences of his actions, which were intended to sow panic and fear.

“The timing of his offence in the wake of the devastating attack in Manchester just days before makes it all the more disturbing.

“Working closely with the police, we were able to charge Ible and secure a guilty plea within a matter of days.”

Dave Rich, director of policy for Jewish charity Community Security Trust (CST), said: “CST welcomes the Crown Prosecution Service treating this appalling incident with the seriousness it deserves.

“Ible’s hoax call was not just reckless, it was cruel and calculated, coming just days after the fatal terror attack at Heaton Park Synagogue in Manchester.

“The hoax call was designed to spread panic and distress at a time when the community was already feeling vulnerable.”