A man accused of trying to stab a woman who works for the intelligence agency GCHQ has appeared in court.
Joshua Bowles was charged with attempted murder following an investigation by counter-terrorism detectives after the incident last Thursday outside a leisure centre located about three miles from the GCHQ base in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire.
The woman, who is referred to in charges by the code number 99230, was repeatedly stabbed and remains in hospital in a stable condition.
Bowles is accused of attacking the woman at about 9.15pm in Tommy Taylors Lane.
He was arrested at the scene and appeared in the dock at Westminster magistrates court in central London on Thursday with a beard and wearing a grey prison-issue tracksuit.
Bowles, who is 29 and from Cheltenham, is charged with the attempted murder of the woman on 9 March, as well as a separate charge of assaulting Alex Fuentes, causing him actual bodily harm, on the same date.
In the dock, Bowles spoke to confirm his name, date of birth and address, but he was not asked to plead.
Craig Tickner, defending, made no application for bail. District judge Nina Tempia remanded Bowles in custody before his next appearance, at the Old Bailey on 31 March.
After Bowles was charged, Det Ch Supt Olly Wright, the head of Counter-Terrorism Policing South East, said: “We would encourage people not to speculate on the specific circumstances surrounding this incident. We believe this was an isolated incident and there is no information to suggest any wider threat to the local community. We must now let the judicial process take place.”
