Jury rejects 'absurd claim' MI5 was trying to kill man behind Park Square Roundabout bomb hoax
A judge slammed the man’s justifications for bringing Sheffield to a standstill as “absurd”
A man has been found guilty of bringing Sheffield to a standstill after falsely claiming he had “20kg of explosives” in his flat.
Hundreds of people were evacuated from their homes at The Gateway flat block over the bomb hoax, while the nearby Park Square Roundabout - one of the busiest routes in Sheffield - was shut in all directions for two days in February 2025
All throughout the ordeal, Yaqub Younis, 49, screamed at police negotiators from behind the door of his top floor flat that they were all, in fact, “assassins from MI5” sent to kill him, and threatened to “pop” the building with a bomb.
Over the last two weeks at Sheffield Crown Court, the 49-year-old tried to convince a jury he does not deserve prison time because of his “genuinely held belief” his life was in danger from security agencies.
“The jury has rejected that claim, and they were right to do so, without any doubt,” said His Honour Judge Jeremy Richardson today (June 22), moments after his unanimous conviction on all charges.
“You presented a comprehensively absurd defence.”
The jury returned a unanimous guilty verdict against all four charges - communicating a bomb hoax, public nuisance, affray and criminal damage - in just two hours and 16 minutes.
“Their verdicts speak volumes,” said the judge.
“You will be sentenced on July 2. Take him down.”
Younis remained silent as he was convicted.
During the trial, Younis claimed he made up the bomb threat because “assassins from MI5” had been surveilling him “for days,” and that raising the alarm prevented them from killing him.
He said in evidence: “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.”
During the police siege on February 10, 2025, hundreds were evacuated from The Gateway flat block and forced to sleep at the Ponds Forge International Sports Centre.
Meanwhile, the Park Square Roundabout - which, according to a 2019 survey, sees over 40,000 vehicles a day - was shut in all directions for over 36 hours, bringing Sheffield to a standstill.
The jury has seen extensive bodyworn camera footage from police negotiators on the day of the siege, in which Younis repeatedly shouts: “You’re not negotiators from South Yorkshire Police! You’re assassins from MI5!”
There were no explosives in the flat, and a “machine gun” he claimed to have turned out to be a plastic tube wrapped in a towel.