This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/aug/26/manchester-schoolgirl-admits-terror-offences-connected-to-anzac-day-plot
The article has changed 3 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Anzac Day plot: Manchester schoolgirl admits terror offences | |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| A 16-year-old Manchester schoolgirl has pleaded guilty to two terror charges, including possessing a “recipe for explosives”, in connection with a plot to attack police officers at an Anzac Day parade in Australia. | A 16-year-old Manchester schoolgirl has pleaded guilty to two terror charges, including possessing a “recipe for explosives”, in connection with a plot to attack police officers at an Anzac Day parade in Australia. |
| The girl was detained by anti-terror police in April along with a boy of 14 from Blackburn, Lancashire, who has already admitted encouraging an Islamic State-inspired terror attack on officers at the annual Anzac parade. He pleaded guilty at the Old Bailey last month to inciting terrorism abroad. | The girl was detained by anti-terror police in April along with a boy of 14 from Blackburn, Lancashire, who has already admitted encouraging an Islamic State-inspired terror attack on officers at the annual Anzac parade. He pleaded guilty at the Old Bailey last month to inciting terrorism abroad. |
| Phone data retrieved by police showed that the pair exchanged more than 2,000 WhatsApp messages a day before they were arrested. And the girl used her school’s IT system to search for information on Jihadi John, Isis and images of Michael Adebolajo, the killer of Fusilier Lee Rigby in Woolwich in 2013. | Phone data retrieved by police showed that the pair exchanged more than 2,000 WhatsApp messages a day before they were arrested. And the girl used her school’s IT system to search for information on Jihadi John, Isis and images of Michael Adebolajo, the killer of Fusilier Lee Rigby in Woolwich in 2013. |
| Neither of the teenagers can be named because of their age. | Neither of the teenagers can be named because of their age. |
| The girl, who has no previous convictions or cautions, on Wednesday pleaded guilty to two offences under section 58 of the Terrorism Act 2000. | The girl, who has no previous convictions or cautions, on Wednesday pleaded guilty to two offences under section 58 of the Terrorism Act 2000. |
| Wearing a headscarf and striped cardigan, she was excused from sitting in the dock at the youth court at Manchester magistrates’ court and instead sat on a bench in front of the judge, flanked by her mother, an uncle and her solicitor. | Wearing a headscarf and striped cardigan, she was excused from sitting in the dock at the youth court at Manchester magistrates’ court and instead sat on a bench in front of the judge, flanked by her mother, an uncle and her solicitor. |
| The girl spoke only to confirm her name and age and pleaded guilty to two charges of possession of documents on or before 3 April likely to be of use to anyone preparing or committing an act of terrorism. One was a recipe for explosives. | The girl spoke only to confirm her name and age and pleaded guilty to two charges of possession of documents on or before 3 April likely to be of use to anyone preparing or committing an act of terrorism. One was a recipe for explosives. |
| No evidence was found that she was aware of, or played any part in, the Anzac Day plot or any plan to harm others or incite terrorism in the UK or elsewhere, the court heard. | No evidence was found that she was aware of, or played any part in, the Anzac Day plot or any plan to harm others or incite terrorism in the UK or elsewhere, the court heard. |
| She was granted bail by the district judge, Khalid Qureshi, who agreed to adjust her bail condition of reporting to police to allow her to attend college. | She was granted bail by the district judge, Khalid Qureshi, who agreed to adjust her bail condition of reporting to police to allow her to attend college. |
| The girl’s bail conditions include a 9pm to 7am curfew, reporting to police three times a week, a ban on applying for travel documents or a passport and a ban on travelling outside England and Wales. | The girl’s bail conditions include a 9pm to 7am curfew, reporting to police three times a week, a ban on applying for travel documents or a passport and a ban on travelling outside England and Wales. |
| She will be seen by a youth offending team and a psychologist before she is sentenced on 15 October. Qureshi warned her that because of the law, his sentencing options would include immediate custody, adding: “The youth offending team will want to interview you and your family. | She will be seen by a youth offending team and a psychologist before she is sentenced on 15 October. Qureshi warned her that because of the law, his sentencing options would include immediate custody, adding: “The youth offending team will want to interview you and your family. |
| “It is very much in your interests you are open and honest with them about what has happened, if you are able to tell them why you got involved in what you got involved in.” | “It is very much in your interests you are open and honest with them about what has happened, if you are able to tell them why you got involved in what you got involved in.” |
| During the police investigation it was established that the boy and the girl had been communicating with each other, and during an eight-day period from 18 March to 25 March this year, 16,260 WhatsApp messages were exchanged between them. She was arrested on 3 April, her home was searched and her BlackBerry phone and a sketchpad were seized. | During the police investigation it was established that the boy and the girl had been communicating with each other, and during an eight-day period from 18 March to 25 March this year, 16,260 WhatsApp messages were exchanged between them. She was arrested on 3 April, her home was searched and her BlackBerry phone and a sketchpad were seized. |
| The girl told police the writing in her sketchpad was related to school work and a chemical recipe in the pad was in response to a Blue Peter children’s TV programme on fireworks. | The girl told police the writing in her sketchpad was related to school work and a chemical recipe in the pad was in response to a Blue Peter children’s TV programme on fireworks. |
| Analysis of the BlackBerry found instructions for producing a timed circuit, a document about DIY bomb-making and the Anarchist Cookbook 2000. The girl also had publications by IS, images of guns, knives and grenades, and photos of jihadi terror “heroes” including Anwar al-Awlaki, Isis leader Sheikh Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and Osama bin Laden. | Analysis of the BlackBerry found instructions for producing a timed circuit, a document about DIY bomb-making and the Anarchist Cookbook 2000. The girl also had publications by IS, images of guns, knives and grenades, and photos of jihadi terror “heroes” including Anwar al-Awlaki, Isis leader Sheikh Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and Osama bin Laden. |
| Images of Isis symbols and flags and quotes including “I love that I should be killed in the way of Allah” and “Only Jihad No Democracy” were also found. And photos of a dead child, an execution and people about to be beheaded were recovered. | Images of Isis symbols and flags and quotes including “I love that I should be killed in the way of Allah” and “Only Jihad No Democracy” were also found. And photos of a dead child, an execution and people about to be beheaded were recovered. |
| Files from her school’s IT network contained searches for the Taliban, Islamic State, Jihadi John, balaclavas and searches for images of Adebolajo. Another image of a female child carried the words: “I will be the one who slaughters you o kuffar, I will be a mujahid.” | Files from her school’s IT network contained searches for the Taliban, Islamic State, Jihadi John, balaclavas and searches for images of Adebolajo. Another image of a female child carried the words: “I will be the one who slaughters you o kuffar, I will be a mujahid.” |
| The boy faces sentencing at Manchester crown court on 3 September and is being held in an unidentified youth detention centre in the north-west of England. | The boy faces sentencing at Manchester crown court on 3 September and is being held in an unidentified youth detention centre in the north-west of England. |