Dance of the Seven Veils

As Monkey Brains noted on the Open Thread, the BBC headlined one of its main stories this afternoon Rochester man admits planning London terror attack. 

The BBC report took so long to get round to the crux of the matter that many casual readers might have assumed from the headline and the opening seven paragraphs that the report concerned some far-right fanatic:

A man has pleaded guilty to plotting a terror attack on London's Oxford Street and raising money for terrorism.

Lewis Ludlow, 26, from Rochester, Kent, appeared at the Old Bailey via videolink from HMP Belmarsh.

He had planned to hire a van and hit pedestrians on Oxford Street as well as targeting Madame Tussaud's and St Paul's Cathedral, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said.

He is due to be sentenced on 2 November at the Old Bailey. A spokesman for the CPS said Ludlow had been under 24-hour armed police surveillance.

On 16 March, Ludlow went online to establish whether there was a police station on Oxford Street, before setting out to take pictures of the shopping area.

He took a picture near to the Oxford Circus Tube station and then a second one outside the Disney store.

Later, he photographed Madame Tussaud's and a bus shelter map of the area around the tourist attraction.

The images were stored in an encrypted application on his phone shared among supporters of the Islamic State group.

A couple of hours after the piece was first published the BBC headline changed to Muslim convert admits London Oxford Street terror plot and the reporting became less opaque: 

A man has pleaded guilty to plotting a terror attack on London's Oxford Street and raising money for terrorism.

Lewis Ludlow, 26, planned to hire a van and hit pedestrians and also targeted Madame Tussauds and St Paul's Cathedral, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said.

He pleaded guilty at the Old Bailey and is due to be sentenced on 2 November.

Ludlow, who also used the name Ali Hussain, had hoped to kill up to 100 people.

A spokesman for the CPS said he had been under 24-hour armed police surveillance.

Ludlow, from Rochester, Kent, first came to the attention of police in 2010 when he attended a demonstration led by radical preacher Anjem Choudary and his banned Al-Muhajiroun group.

Still, contrast that with Sky News, who get to the point much quicker:

London Disney store plot: Muslim convert pleads guilty to planning terror attack The Old Bailey hears police found detailed plans for several targets in the capital, including Oxford Street and Madame Tussauds.

A Muslim convert has pleaded guilty to plotting to kill around 100 people outside a Disney store on London's Oxford Street.

Lewis Ludlow, 26, swore allegiance to Islamic State (IS) as he prepared to drive a van through London's main shopping area or near Madame Tussauds.

Using a false name, he bought a mobile phone and wrote down his plans to carry out an attack in notes later found torn in pieces in a bin.

He picked out Oxford Street as an "ideal target" and wrote: "It is expected nearly 100 could be killed in the attack."

 ...or ITV News:

Muslim convert Lewis Ludlow admits Oxford Street terror plot 'to kill 100' 

A Muslim convert is facing years behind bars after admitting plotting to kill around 100 people in a terror attack outside the Disney Store on Oxford Street.

Lewis Ludlow swore allegiance to so-called Islamic State as he prepared to drive a van through London’s shopping district or Madame Tussauds.

The 26-year-old also researched other potential targets around the capital.

It is as if the BBC is always holding back when it comes to reporting such stories.