Man on trial for bomb hoax tells jury why he thought MI5 were 'trying to kill him' during Sheffield siege
“I still believe my life is in danger to this day. There is no doubt in my mind.”
The man accused of bringing Sheffield to a standstill after threatening to “blow up” his flat block told a jury why he thought MI5 was “following him” that day.
Yaqub Younis, 49, is on trial over an incident in February 2026 that saw police siege The Gateway residential building on Broad Street for 32 hours.
Hundreds of people were evacuated from their homes while the nearby Park Square Roundabout - one of the busiest routes in South Yorkshire Police - was shut in all directions for two days.
Now, Younis has told a jury the reason he told police and neighbours he had “20kg of explosives” was he thought security services were trying to assassinate him.
“I was scared and I was more than convinced I was under surveillance,” he told Sheffield Crown Court on June 15.
“I thought that [saying I had explosives] would somehow protect me against the agitators... I wanted to attract public attention towards me.”
He denies all charges of communicating a bomb hoax, public nuisance, affray and criminal damage.
The jury has previously seen body worn footage from the siege, where Younis shouted at negotiators: “You’re not South Yorkshire Police! You’re MI5! This is an assassination squad!”
Younis told the jury he became scared when he returned to his top-floor flat at The Gateway on February 9 after two days away, as he felt he was being watched by police.
“My spectacles and pens on the table I could visibly see had been moved around,” he said.
“When I went outside that morning, I saw three vehicles including a white Skoda. I saw the white Skoda two more times that day in different places.
“When I went to the shop, the shopkeeper was not his normal cheery self and he seemed nervous.
“When I went to take the lift back home, a man in his late 40s entered the building and called the right-hand lift. That struck me as strange, because that lift had been broken for three weeks. Anyone who lived there would have known that.
“When I turned to look at him, he turned his head away and smirked. He did not get in the lift. I thought that was strange.
“At some stage that aroused my suspicions I was under some kind of surveillance.
“[On February 10] two women in plains clothes came up to me outside and told me they were from South Yorkshire Police, and there had been a disturbance at my address. I said there hadn’t been.
“They commented on my strong West Midlands accent.
“That was when I saw sure my life was life was in danger.”
Younis told the jury it was then he went to his flat, locked the door and shouted out the window: “My life is in danger.”
Soon after, he told neighbours and the first emergency service workers on the scene he had “20kg of explosives” and he would “pop” the building.
He said: “I hoped to get people’s attention and cameras and save my life, and they would back away from killing me.
“And I think it did save my life.
“I still believe my life is in danger to this day. There is no doubt in my mind.”
On the first day of the trial, prosecutor Ms Annabel Darlow KC told the jury: “It is not expected you will hear any expert evidence about Yaqub Younis’ mental health.”
There were no explosives in the flat.
The trial continues.