Far-right teenager found guilty of plotting terror attack on mosques and ex-girlfriend

A teenager who stole his father's car to conduct a dry run for a terrorist attack on two mosques has been found guilty of preparing acts of terrorism.

The youth, who was aged 15 at the time, drove to a mosque in Keighley, near Bradford, in the early hours of 5 June last year, before crashing his father's Lexus down an embankment on the way home.

Notes found on his phone revealed he was planning to murder his ex-girlfriend and then attack two mosques while dressed as a police officer, using a firearm he would buy over the internet.

If he could not get hold of a firearm, he would use a vehicle or a knife which he had decorated with right-wing slogans, in an echo of the Christchurch mosque attacks.

Nick de la Poer KC told Leeds Crown Court the youth treated Brenton Tarrant, the Christchurch killer who shot dead 51 people at two mosques in New Zealand, as a "hero" and a "saint".

The boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, used a school exercise book to write a "manifesto", inspired by Tarrant.

His phone notes also listed items to buy, which included a GoPro camera to film the attack, in another echo of the New Zealand shootings.

The teenager would spend hours watching racist, homophobic and antisemitic videos on the Telegram messaging app and became fascinated with far-right terrorists who had carried out attacks.

He told a teacher that Muslims and Jewish people were "invaders" who were there to destroy "our race" and was referred to the government's Prevent de-radicalisation programme.

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Youth treated far-right killers as 'heroes'

Along with Tarrant, the youth's heroes were said to include Anders Breivik who killed 77 people in a gun and bomb attack in Norway in 2011, and Dylann Roof who killed nine people during a racist shooting at a church in Charleston in June 2015.

The teenager pleaded guilty to possession of a knife, encouraging terrorism and four counts of disseminating terrorist publications but denied planning a terrorist attack.

In court, he claimed he was only putting on a "racist act" to get out of classes at school. He said the notes on his phone were just a "fantasy".

'That hatred was utterly sincere'

However, Mr de la Poer said the teenager "was not just fantasising about carrying out an attack, but intended to do it".

The prosecutor accused him of being a "highly manipulative person" and a "serial liar" who would say anything to save his own skin.

"When you peel back the surface layer, it is clear that this unremarkable appearance sat on top of a seething hatred. And that hatred was utterly sincere," he added.

The youth, now aged 16, was unanimously found guilty of preparing acts of terrorism. He will face sentencing at a later date.

Detective Chief Superintendent James Dunkerley, head of Counter Terrorism Policing North East, said: "If you are worried about someone you know expressing extreme views or hatred, then please trust your instincts and use our Act Early website.

"It can be hard to know what to do and who to turn to when a person you know is voicing concerning opinions. We want you to know that support is out there."