The former hotel entertainer who plotted deadly gun attack
BBC World
February 13, 2026
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Walid Saadaoui, a former hotel entertainer in Tunisia, has been convicted of planning a deadly gun attack targeting Jewish people in Manchester. Once a performer organizing pool sessions and dance shows for tourists, Saadaoui transformed his life after moving to the UK, where he settled in Clacton-on-Sea and later worked at a holiday village. His plot, which authorities described as potentially the deadliest terrorist attack in UK history, involved arranging the importation of firearms through Dover Port. The scheme was uncovered before it could be carried out, revealing Saadaoui's meticulous planning, including setting up a restaurant business to hide his activities and securing a substantial sum of money.
Saadaoui's journey from entertainer to accused terrorist began after his marriage to an English holidaymaker in Tunisia, followed by a move to the UK in 2012. Over the years, he worked various jobs, including running a bakery and arcade before purchasing The Albatross restaurant in Great Yarmouth. Despite presenting himself as a hardworking family man with two children, Saadaoui was secretly plotting acts of terrorism between December 2023 and May 2024. His arrest in May 2024 led to the discovery of £75,000 hidden in a safe at his home in Wigan, along with other evidence linking him to the
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Originally published on BBC World on 2/13/2026