A white, British 17-year-old has been found guilty of planning an 'Islamic State'-inspired terrorist attack.
The attack was to be carried out around a month after the Manchester Arena bombing at the Ariana Grande concert, this time at the Justin Bieber concert in Cardiff.
The Guardian reports that the police raided the teenager's home in Rhondda Cynon Taf on 30th June 2017 after fearing the attack was imminent, as the concert was that evening.
The boy surrendered his phone and informed the police of his Instagram password, which was 'TruckAttack'.
The police found a claw hammer and a gutting knife in his school rucksack which he had taken to school.
They also found a suicide note or martyrdom letter that read, 'I am a soldier of the Islamic State. I have attacked Cardiff today because your government keep on bombing targets in Syria and Iraq. There will be more attacks in the future.'
A note apparently planning the attack had bullet points including, 'run down the non-believers with a car' and 'strike the infidels who oppose Allah in the neck'.'
A search of his laptop and internet history concluded he had extensively researched other terror attacks as well as how to steal a car, how to kill someone with a knife and the security details of the Justin Bieber concert.
The 17 year-old defendant denied, 'preparing for an act of terrorism, two charges of encouraging terrorism online and two charges of possessing editions of an Isis propaganda magazine.' He told the court, 'I never thought about actually doing it. Even though I did carry a hammer and a knife I never thought about doing it for one minute.'
At Birmingham crown court he explained that although he has a 'stupid interest in the gory' and well as a curiosity surrounding ISIS, he had no intention of actually carrying out the attack.
Regarding the religion of Islam the defendant explained he was not part of the faith, did not own a Qur'an and ate ham.
He explained in the witness box, 'I wanted to see how easy it was for people who had an interest in terrorism to go online and get information because the police and the government are trying to crack down on terrorism and radicalisation. I wanted to see if it was possible, not for me but from someone else's point of view.'
In defence, his cousin stated, 'He was drawn into it, curiosity getting the better of him.'
Since charged, he has received a diagnosis of autistic spectrum disorder, 'although it was not said to have affected his ability to make decisions.'
Sue Hemming, from the Crown Prosecution Service, said: 'This teenager's behaviour over many months leaves no doubt that he intended to kill and maim as many people as possible in an attack reminiscent of the incident on Westminster Bridge.
'The CPS presented overwhelming evidence that he was prepared to die for [an] extremist worldview and he will now rightly face the prospect of a substantial prison sentence.'
Judge Mark Wall QC told his defence barrister, Delroy Henry: 'The offences for which he has been convicted obviously merit a significant custodial sentence.'
Daisy Murray is the Digital Fashion Editor at ELLE UK, spotlighting emerging designers, sustainable shopping, and celebrity style. Since joining in 2016 as an editorial intern, Daisy has run the gamut of fashion journalism - interviewing Molly Goddard backstage at London Fashion Week, investigating the power of androgynous dressing and celebrating the joys of vintage shopping.
