Judge to decide trial after jury tampering claim

A judge has discharged the jury in the trial of five men accused of carrying out a machete attack in Bradford, following allegations of jury tampering.

The men are accused of conspiracy to murder and conspiracy to cause grievous bodily harm with intent in relation to the alleged attack in May 2025 which resulted in a man having his hand cut off by a machete.

On Wednesday, the Recorder of Bradford, Judge Jonathan Rose, lifted reporting restrictions that had prevented the media from reporting the jury had been removed in August.

Judge Rose is expected to hear closing submissions from the prosecution and defence before returning verdicts himself.

The court previously heard the alleged attack took place in Tickhill Street, Bradford, at about 22:00 BST on 11 May 2025.

One of the victims was left with a severed hand and a partially amputated leg, while a second man was struck in the neck with a machete but managed to escape.

Prosecutors submitted that the object of the conspiracy was to kill the two men and that the attack had been a "punishment attack" following an earlier assault on another man.

Mohammed Waqqas Khan, 27, of Folkestone Street, Bradford, 42-year-old Rahees Khan, of no fixed abode, Hanzalah Saladin, 27, of no fixed abode, Adam Takolia, 29, of no fixed abode, and a fifth man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, all deny charges of conspiracy to murder.

They also deny an alternative charge of conspiracy to cause grievous bodily harm with intent.

Rahees Khan and 30-year-old Alice Dobson, from Baildon, also deny a further allegation of conspiracy to pervert the course of justice.

Dobson had been employed as a police community support officer with West Yorkshire Police at the time and is accused of sharing confidential details of the police investigation.

The trial continues.

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