Asylum seeker who planted fake bomb at MI5 after his appeal to stay in the UK was refused is likely to be deported after serving jail term

Published: 20:45, 15 May 2026 | Updated: 20:45, 15 May 2026 A failed asylum seeker who planted a fake stick of dynamite outside MI5 headquarters on New Year's Day has been jailed for two-and-a-half years. Brazilian national Julian Valente Pereira, 33, left the fake bomb outside Thames House in central London on January 1 at 3.02pm, a day after he was handed a deportation notice. Pereira came to the UK with permission to work in July 2018 before claiming asylum, which was rejected. Shannon Revel, prosecuting, had said the Brazilian wanted 'maximum attention' on his complaints against the Home Office after a long-running failed bid to stay in Britain. CCTV footage showed Pereira stuffing paperwork about his immigration case through the MI5 building's doors before taking the fake explosive from his bag and throwing it on the pavement. A fuse appeared to hang from the top of the brown cylinder, which a bomb expert found was made from rolled-up A4 paper, brown masking tape and string. London played host to a New Year's Day parade the same day. Pereira was living in an asylum hotel in Uxbridge, west London, and had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, a court heard. Julian Valente Pereira planted a fake bomb outside MI5 headquarters on New Year's Day after he was handed a deportation notice He had stuffed papers relating to his failed bid to remain in the UK through the door of the building Pereira then left a device which looked like a bomb at the door. Bomb experts found it to be a hoax within the hour He said the device he laid would not have been mistaken for an explosive. But after trial he was found guilty in February of placing an article with the intention of inducing another to believe the item was going to explode. At the Old Bailey on Friday, Judge Mark Lucraft KC, sentencing, jailed Pereira for two years and six months. The judge said the defendant 'may well' be deported from the UK. Judge Lucraft noted police concerns at the time that the fake dynamite was a 'genuine explosive' and that dealing with the incident 'diverted them from other things'. Though officers found it to be a hoax within an hour, concerns remained the dummy device could have been 'a diversionary tactic in preparation for another incident elsewhere', the judge added. He told the defendant: 'You are of good character, demonstrating some remorse for what you did, expressing regret and sorrow for your actions that day. 'You accept now that what you did was foolish.' No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.