A man who threatened to blow-up a shop and stab its staff for selling French magazine Charlie Hebdo in the aftermath of the Paris terror attacks has been given a suspended prison sentence.

Former security guard Shamim Ahmed, 25, sent an email to South Kensington 's The French Bookshop on January 17 with the subject line: ‘Protect your neck while you are still alive’.

He was handed a 20-week sentence suspended for two years, told to pay costs and compensation, carry out community service and also handed a restraining order at Hammersmith Magistrates’ Court on Monday (November 9).

Ahmed accused the bookshop of selling the satirical magazine “against Muslims” and said they would face “major retaliation” if they continued to stock it.

He then made two threatening phone calls to the Bute Street shop on January 22, telling the owner: “I’m going to come and stab you, I’m going to come right away and blow up the shop. I'm not afraid of the police, I’m a Muslim.”

A day before the alleged threat, owner Robert Zaigue had told a journalist: “If they want to blow the place up, they’ll blow the place up.

"Those people don’t scare me, we’re not going to let them scare us.”

The threats came after the massacre of 12 people during a raid on the offices of Charlie Hebdo in Paris on January 7.

The publishers of the magazine said that they wanted to proceed with the next edition of the magazine and the proceeds would be given to the victims of the massacre.

On January 16, Mr Zaigue said that he was, despite the controversy, going to stock the magazine.

The following day Ahmed emailed the shop to warn: “We will not allow our prophet Muhammed, peace be upon him, to be ridiculed.

"If we ever find out that your shop is selling Charlie Hebdo magazine you will face major retaliation.”

Speaking at an earlier hearing last month, when the defendant admitted two counts of sending malicious communication , prosecutor Kodi Kara told Westminster Magistrates’ Court that the staff member responsible for dealing with emails immediately realised it was going to be a threatening email from the subheading.

And five days later, Ahmed’s mobile phone was used to make two calls to the bookshop at 4.17pm.

Miss Kara said: “In the first call, the person who has made the call was sounding very nervous and asked if they were still selling copies of the magazine. He said: ‘You are selling this against Muslims’, and she realised this was another threat being made.

“On the second call, he said: ‘I’m going to come and stab you, I’m going to come right away and blow up the shop, I’m not afraid of the police, I’m a Muslim’.”

When told that he was speaking to a woman, he replied: “I don’t care.”

The prosecutor told the court: “She said she was scared to death, he sounded very determined.”

Ahmed, from Bigland Street, Tower Hamlets, was also told to pay two lots of compensation at £250 each, an £80 victim surcharge and prosecution costs of £600.

He must carry out 300 hours of unpaid work and indefinitely placed under a restraining order which prevented him from contacting The French Bookshop or its staff, or encouraging others to do so.