Two men and a woman have been found guilty of a “vicious politically-motivated attack” on a retired Indian military general in a Marylebone street last September.

Lt Gen Kuldip Singh Brar was attacked and stabbed by a group of men as he returned to his hotel along Old Quebec Street shortly after 10.30pm on Sunday, September 30.

The attack left him with a deep cut across his throat and a second deep cut that ran approximately two to three inches from his left ear across his cheek.

Mandeep Singh Sandhu, 35, of Great Barr, Birmingham, and 37-year-old Dilbag Singh, of no fixed abode, and their female co-defendant Harjit Kaur, 39, of Hayes, Middlesex, were all found guilty of wounding with intent to do grievous bodily harm following a trial at Southwark Crown Court.

A third man - Barjinder Singh Sangha, 34, of Wolverhampton, - pleaded guilty to wounding with intent to do grievous bodily harm in January this year.

Police had also charged Sangha with common assault on Lt Gen Brar’s wife Meena, which was ordered to lie on file.

The group is believed to have deliberately set out to attack Lt Gen Brar in retaliation for events that occurred in India during his military career, in particular, his military leadership during a siege at the Sikh Golden Temple in Amritsar in 1984.

The group travelled to London after becoming aware the Brars were in the capital on his annual holiday. Kaur followed the couple around London and provided her co-defendants with regular updates on their mobile phones about their movements and locations.

This enabled Sangha, Sandhu, Singh and another man to intercept and assault the couple as they returned to their hotel after an evening out.

As the couple passed the group, Sangha grabbed 68-year-old Mrs Brar and held her by the throat against a wall, while the others attacked Lt Gen Brar.

Sangha then joined the others in attacking Lt Gen Brar, who was fighting back in self-defence. Sangha drew a knife and slashed at the lieutenant-general’s neck.

At this point the assailants fled on foot towards Oxford Street, leaving him lying on the ground seriously injured.

Commander Richard Walton, head of the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command, which carried out the investigation, said: “This was a vicious politically-motivated attack that very nearly killed Lt Gen Brar. It was pre-planned and organised, but thankfully unsuccessful.

“Lt Gen Brar was brave throughout the attack and again during the court case. We are pleased that justice has been done.”

All the defendants will be sentenced at Southwark Crown Court on September 19.