‘Call me Saddam’: Nail bomb maniac David Copeland ‘converts to Islam in jail and takes Iraqi dictator’s name as he demands forgiveness and a second chance’
- David Copeland, 44, reportedly converted to Islam while serving his sentence
- A former fellow inmate has said Copeland instructed people to call him Saddam
- Copeland was jailed for life in 2000 after carrying out three bombings in London including one in Soho which targeted LGBTQ community and killed three people
Nail bomb killer David Copeland (pictured) has converted to Islam in prison, according to a former fellow inmate
Nail bomb maniac David Copeland has converted to Islam in a bid to find forgiveness and ‘get a second chance’, it has been claimed.
Copeland caused three nail bomb explosions in the space of 13 days in April 1999 – the final of which went off LGBTQ pub the Admiral Duncan in Soho.
There, three people – including a pregnant woman – were killed. Copeland was jailed for life in 2000 and must serve a minimum of 50 years.
The 44-year-old, who is serving his sentence at HMP Frankland, in Durham, befriended armed robber Andy Ross who has since been released after serving 11 and a half years.
Ross told the Sun: Copeland prays every day and sees practising as a Muslim as a way of getting forgiveness and changing.
‘But he still has a twisted mind.’
The nail bomb killer, from Hampshire, instructed fellow inmates to call him Saddam, a reflection of his admiration for the Iraqi dictator, the Sun reported.
Copeland was found guilty of three counts of murder and three counts of causing explosions in London in order to endanger life.
The blasts went off in Brixton, Brick Lane and finally Soho and injured 140 people.
Copeland, who was 22 at the time, told police he wanted the bombings to ‘set fire to the country and stir up a racial war’.
The scene in Soho after the third of Copeland’s bombs went off and killed three people in 1999
He had planned to continue the attacks until he was caught.
Andrea Dykes, 27, John Light, 32, and Nik Moore, 31, died in the final blast which contained 1,500 nails.
Copeland was slapped with six life sentences after a trial at the Old Bailey and has since been handed an additional three years for attacking a fellow inmate in 2014.
In August last year, Netflix announced it had commissioned a feature-length documentary about Copeland and the nail bomb attacks.