Naa’imur Rahman, of north London, has been charged with preparing to commit acts of terrorism. He was remanded in custody after a brief appearance at Westminster Magistrates Court, reports Reuters from London.
Prosecutor Mark Carroll told the court Rahman planned to detonate an improvised explosive device at the gates of Downing Street and gain access to May's office in the ensuing chaos and kill her.
"The secondary attack was to be carried out with a suicide vest, pepper spray and a knife," he told the court.
Rahman was carrying two inert explosive devices when he was arrested last week, the court heard.
"His purpose was to attack, kill and cause explosions," Carroll said.
Rahman appeared with a co-defendant, 21-year-old Mohammed Imran, from Birmingham, who is also charged with preparing to commit acts of terrorism. Carroll said Imran was accused of trying to join the Islamic State militant group in Libya.
Meanwhile, BBC reports today that Rahman gave his nationality as Bangladeshi-British, while Imran gave his as Pakistani-British....