14-year-old charged with terrorism offences over plot to target two mosques
A 14-year-old boy has been charged with ’extreme right-wing terrorism’ offences over alleged plans to target two mosques in south London.
The child, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was arrested on Thursday on suspicion of criminal damage to a vehicle in the Sutton area.
Officers carried out a search of the address, where they allegedly found a ’number of documents of concern’.
He was subsequently arrested on suspicion of an offence under section 5 of the Terrorism Act 2006 – preparation of terrorist acts – linked to extreme right-wing terrorism.
He has also been charged with damaging property without lawful excuse belonging to another, intending to damage such property, namely a car window.
The offence was racially aggravated, the Metropolitan Police added.
According to police, the terrorism charge relates to an alleged plan to target two mosques in the Sutton area.
The mosques affected have been contacted by police and are being provided with ongoing advice and support by specialist officers.
The boy has been remanded in custody and will appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Thursday.
Commander Helen Flanagan, Head of CTP London said: ’This is a very serious terrorism charge against a young boy and likely to be highly concerning to the public and the local community.
’We know this will be particularly concerning to the Muslim community and we are working closely with the venues affected to ensure they are kept updated and to provide advice, support and reassurance, and this will continue.’
Detective Chief Superintendent Nick Blackburn, who is in charge of local policing for the south London area added: ’We acknowledge that this will be concerning for the local Muslim community and have been working together with our local partners to provide reassurance and support and I would like to thank all those involved for their understanding.
’We should not underestimate the cumulative impact of incidents of this nature on the Muslim community.
’These charges come just days after 12 people were arrested for a suspected threat to an Islamic festival in Suffolk and a man was arrested for an alleged assault outside a mosque in Leyton.
’We have been working closely with our colleagues from Counter Terrorism Policing London throughout their investigation and we have increased patrols in the affected areas, which we will look to continue over coming days.
’As always, should anyone have any concerns, then they can contact us or their local police neighbourhoods team.’
Head of Investigations
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