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| Anzac day terror plot: British teenager given life sentence | Anzac day terror plot: British teenager given life sentence |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| A British teenager, thought to be the UK’s youngest convicted terrorist, has been sentenced to life, with at least five years detention, for plotting an Anzac Day “massacre” in Australia, while he was aged just 14. | A British teenager, thought to be the UK’s youngest convicted terrorist, has been sentenced to life, with at least five years detention, for plotting an Anzac Day “massacre” in Australia, while he was aged just 14. |
| Sentencing, Mr Justice Saunders said it was “chilling” that a defendant so young had been “hoping and intending that the outcome would the deaths of a number of people”. | Sentencing, Mr Justice Saunders said it was “chilling” that a defendant so young had been “hoping and intending that the outcome would the deaths of a number of people”. |
| The boy, from Blackburn, Lancashire, was the “organiser and adviser” of a plot to behead Australian police officers on Anzac Day. | The boy, from Blackburn, Lancashire, was the “organiser and adviser” of a plot to behead Australian police officers on Anzac Day. |
| The youth, who cannot be named for legal reasons, pleaded guilty at Manchester crown court in July to inciting terrorism overseas. It emerged during the trial that the teenager sent thousands of online messages to extremists in Australia. | The youth, who cannot be named for legal reasons, pleaded guilty at Manchester crown court in July to inciting terrorism overseas. It emerged during the trial that the teenager sent thousands of online messages to extremists in Australia. |
| The judge said the defendant would not be released until he is considered not to be dangerous. “Thanks to the intervention of the police in this country and in Australia, that attack and the deaths which were intended to follow never happened,” he said. | The judge said the defendant would not be released until he is considered not to be dangerous. “Thanks to the intervention of the police in this country and in Australia, that attack and the deaths which were intended to follow never happened,” he said. |
| “Had the authorities not intervened, (the defendant) would have continued to play his part hoping and intending that the outcome would be the deaths of a number of people. | “Had the authorities not intervened, (the defendant) would have continued to play his part hoping and intending that the outcome would be the deaths of a number of people. |
| “In March 2015 he would have been pleased if that had happened. He would have welcomed the notoriety that he would have achieved.” | “In March 2015 he would have been pleased if that had happened. He would have welcomed the notoriety that he would have achieved.” |
| “The revelation in this case that someone of only 14 could have become so radicalised that he was prepared to carry out this role intending and wishing that people should die is chilling.” | “The revelation in this case that someone of only 14 could have become so radicalised that he was prepared to carry out this role intending and wishing that people should die is chilling.” |
| The teenager hugged his parents and family members after sentence was passed down before he was led from the courtroom. | The teenager hugged his parents and family members after sentence was passed down before he was led from the courtroom. |
| At the sentencing hearing on Thursday, the court heard that the defendant was radicalised by an online jihadi community, accessed via his first smartphone, which prosecutors said had filled a void caused by problems at school and at home, as well as a degenerative eye condition. | At the sentencing hearing on Thursday, the court heard that the defendant was radicalised by an online jihadi community, accessed via his first smartphone, which prosecutors said had filled a void caused by problems at school and at home, as well as a degenerative eye condition. |
| He became a celebrity of the online jihadi community, operating 89 Twitter accounts and attracting 24,000 followers within a fortnight. | He became a celebrity of the online jihadi community, operating 89 Twitter accounts and attracting 24,000 followers within a fortnight. |
| Paul Greaney QC, prosecuting, told the court it was “a plot that would in all probability have resulted in a number of deaths was thwarted.” | Paul Greaney QC, prosecuting, told the court it was “a plot that would in all probability have resulted in a number of deaths was thwarted.” |
| The teenager was arrested on 25 March after concerns were raised by his school about his extreme behaviour, where classmates had nicknamed him “the terrorist”. | The teenager was arrested on 25 March after concerns were raised by his school about his extreme behaviour, where classmates had nicknamed him “the terrorist”. |
| Mr Justice Saunders said the day of the planned attack was chosen because of “its importance to Australia and its people” when those who have died in conflict are honoured. He said: “It was the day when the killings would have the greatest impact. The victims were to be police officers who were to be killed either with a car or by being beheaded.” | Mr Justice Saunders said the day of the planned attack was chosen because of “its importance to Australia and its people” when those who have died in conflict are honoured. He said: “It was the day when the killings would have the greatest impact. The victims were to be police officers who were to be killed either with a car or by being beheaded.” |
| The judge said “a considerable amount of expertise” had gone into explaining how and why the teenager became so radicalised. “It appears he felt isolated in terms of his education and home life. There was a vacuum in his life which he filled with religious extremism.” | The judge said “a considerable amount of expertise” had gone into explaining how and why the teenager became so radicalised. “It appears he felt isolated in terms of his education and home life. There was a vacuum in his life which he filled with religious extremism.” |
| The judge described how the teenager’s behaviour had changed gradually over three years, but most markedly in 2014 when he had begun accessing extreme material. | The judge described how the teenager’s behaviour had changed gradually over three years, but most markedly in 2014 when he had begun accessing extreme material. |
| “He communicated with extremist propagandists who either worked for Isis or supported their aims over the internet,” Mr Justice Saunders said. “They were experienced recruiters who were keen to enlist young impressionable Muslims to the cause.” | “He communicated with extremist propagandists who either worked for Isis or supported their aims over the internet,” Mr Justice Saunders said. “They were experienced recruiters who were keen to enlist young impressionable Muslims to the cause.” |
| Those who groomed the defendant had succeeded in “turning him into a deeply committed radical extremist,” the judge continued. | Those who groomed the defendant had succeeded in “turning him into a deeply committed radical extremist,” the judge continued. |
| Lessons could be learned from the way the teenager paid lip service to de-radicalisation programmes like Channel, the judge concluded. “But there is no material before me from which blame should be attributed to anyone, except those extremists who were prepared to use the internet to encourage extreme views in a boy of 14 and then use him to carry out terrorist acts.” | Lessons could be learned from the way the teenager paid lip service to de-radicalisation programmes like Channel, the judge concluded. “But there is no material before me from which blame should be attributed to anyone, except those extremists who were prepared to use the internet to encourage extreme views in a boy of 14 and then use him to carry out terrorist acts.” |
| The defendant was said to have made “considerable progress” at the detention centre where he is held but the author of the teenager’s pre-sentence report concluded he presents a high risk of serious harm to the public. | |
| “I acknowledge the progress and encourage the work done by [the defendant] and others but I have no doubt a significant risk remains,” the judge said, adding that there was no certainty on how long de-radicalisation would take. | |
| “I very much hope that the risk will have been removed in five years and he can be released and realise his considerable potential in society,” he concluded. |