Ex-GCHQ worker stabbed US security worker in Cheltenham, court told

A former UK intelligence worker called himself a terrorist after stabbing a US government employee in a "vicious" attack, a court has heard.

Joshua Bowles, 29, attacked the woman in a leisure centre car park, three miles from GCHQ's base on 9 March.

In August, Bowles, from Welwyn Mews in Cheltenham, pleaded guilty to attempted murder and assaulting a second person, causing actual bodily harm.

His sentencing has been adjourned until Monday morning at the Old Bailey.

Bowles stabbed the woman, who worked for National Security Agency of the United States, three times at a leisure centre on Tommy Taylors Lane in Cheltenham.

The woman, referred to in court by the code number 99230, was attacked outside the premises and also in the reception area.

Prosecuting barrister, Duncan Penny, told the court Bowles had launched a "pre-meditated, targeted and vicious attack on an unarmed woman".

He added: "Her selection as the target for this attack was entirely and solely associated with her role as a US government employee in the National Security Agency of the United States.

"The attack was intended to be lethal - that the helpless victim survived it was mere happenstance."

In his police interview, Bowles described himself as a "terrorist", the court heard.

"Due to the size and resourcing, American intelligence represents the largest contributor within the intelligence community so made sense as the symbolic target.

"I consider GCHQ just as guilty," he said.

The prosecution asserted Bowles' attack was a planned terrorist-related attack after the defendant searched the internet for topics including the American Unabomber terrorist, Theodore Kaczynski.

Mr Penny said the victim had been playing netball at the leisure centre in Cheltenham on the evening of the attack and was leaving with a friend, who was a fellow US national.

CCTV footage showed the pair walking into the car park just after 21:00 BST followed by the defendant, who had been waiting in his car with two knives in a rucksack.

The victim turned around when she heard a man say "excuse me" and was punched repeatedly in the face, the court was told.

Mr Penny said she assumed she was being mugged and saw he had a knife when the blade caught the light.

The prosecutor added: "The defendant was punching her, and she was fighting back, concerned about the knife, kicking, punching and screaming as much as she could."

Her friend shouted at Bowles to leave her alone and hit him with her bag while the victim tried to fight him off.

The victim said the defendant kept coming at her with the knife, adding: "He just wouldn't stop."

The court heard that Alex Fuentes, who was passing by, asked Bowles "what's going on?", with the defendant responding by hitting him in the face.

Mr Fuentes said it left him "in complete shock".

The two women ran back into the leisure centre, followed seconds later by the defendant.

Mr Penny said: "The defendant attacked the victim a second time, immediately upon entering reception. 99230 recalls him yelling but can't remember what was said.

"The CCTV footage shows the defendant holding a knife and lunging towards 99230, who was trying to back away. She describes that 'it felt like he hated me… his focus was me'."

Steve Bunn, another visitor to the Leisure Centre, grabbed the defendant, enabling the two women to move away and Bowles dropped a knife on the floor, the court heard.

While waiting for police, the defendant told Mr Bunn that he would understand what he had done if he knew what they did at GCHQ.

He said Bowles was "making out that he was disgusted by the manner in which they gather information and use things against people" and was "appalled by the agency the victim works for".

He remembered the defendant saying he could no longer "handle the murky waters of ethics".

"What have I done? I've tried to kill her. I can't believe this… They pay me all this money, I just couldn't face the ethics of it," Bowles told Mr Bunn.

The court was told the female victim's injuries included cuts to her abdomen, chest and thigh.

In a victim impact statement, she said that using the defendant's name made her "feel sick" and brought back "awful memories".

She said: "I now know he used to work where I work and I'm devastated by this.

"This attack has had a profound effect on me and it's utterly and completely changed my life.

"Months later, my wounds are still sore."

The prosecution asserted the offence had "a terrorist connection" but that was disputed by the defence.

In mitigation, Bowles' barrister Tim Forte said his client expressed "his profound regret, remorse and shame at what he has done".

His twin motivations were "rejection by the object of his affections" and a desire to hurt his ex-employer "for employment reasons," Mr Forte said

Follow BBC West on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to: [email protected]