A British Muslim convert has been sentenced to 15 years in jail after being found guilty of two charges of having articles for use in terrorism. Andrew Rowe, 34, was convicted of having instructions on firing a mortar and a terrorism code.

The jury could not reach a verdict on a third charge relating to possession of socks bearing traces of explosives, but prosecutors are not seeking a retrial.

Rowe, from Maida Vale, west London, had denied all the charges.

A pair of socks were found in his luggage that were rolled into a ball with a cord attached.

Rowe said he used it for martial arts kicks and that traces of explosives were from when he used the socks as gloves to unload ammunition, after carrying out humanitarian work in Bosnia in 1995.

But the prosecution claimed it could have been used for cleaning a mortar.

Hand-written instructions on how to fire a mortar and the secret code were found at addresses in London and Birmingham linked to Rowe.

The code substituted names of mobile phones for words including money, trouble-police, weapon, airport and army base, prosecutor Mark Ellison said.

There were also codes for explosive materials, making it a "shopping list for terrorism", Mr Ellison said.

He also said Rowe had travelled extensively after converting to Islam, including to places of conflict, and had had four passports in seven years.

Rowe told the court he had converted to Islam at the age of 19 in a bid to alter his lifestyle after taking and selling drugs.

The jury had earlier been told they could return a majority verdict.

Jurors had been deliberating for a day and were told verdicts on which at least 10 agreed would now be accepted.
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