UK Foiled Terror Plots

Summary

On 26 February 2025, a 15-year-old boy was charged with plotting a terrorist attack and membership of The Base, a neo-Nazi group proscribed as a terrorist organisation in 2021.

The teenager, from Northumbria, appeared in Westminster Magistrates’ Court on 27 February and pleaded not guilty to two terrorism offences:

• Engaging in conduct in preparation for committing acts of terrorism (contrary to Section 5 of the Terrorism Act 2006)
• Membership of a proscribed organisation (contrary to Section 11 of the Terrorism Act 2000)

Prosecutors alleged that the teenager discussed plans for a terrorist attack with an unidentified individual in 2024. He is also accused of downloading extremist manuals and purchasing equipment and weapons online, including a crossbow.

Counter Terrorism Policing North East arrested the teenager on 20 February. He was remanded into youth detention and will next appear at the Old Bailey in March 2025.

Charges are not proof of guilt, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in trial or offers a guilty plea.

Summary

On 23 December 2024, Jordan Richardson (aged 20), from Howden, near Goole, in East Yorkshire, was charged with engaging in conduct in preparation of an act of terrorism (contrary to Section 5 TACT 2006). He was arrested on 19 December in connection to an alleged IS-inspired attack plot targeting a local shopping centre and British Jews.

Richardson, a recent convert to Islam, allegedly had an “attack plan” in his backpack that included his intentions. He is also accused of possessing a document with a handwritten recipe for mustard sulphur (mustard gas), although it is unconfirmed whether he tried to prepare a chemical agent or an explosive device.

Police found a crossbow and knife at Richardson’s home, and his electronic devices allegedly included content expressing a desire to kill or harm “infidels” and Jews. He also posted pro-IS statements on Instagram.

Charges are not proof of guilt, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in trial or offers a guilty plea.

Summary

On 13 May 2024, three men were charged with terrorism offences in connection with an alleged Islamic State-inspired terrorist plot to carry out a shooting attack targeting the Jewish community in the North West of England and police officers and members of UK military.

Walid Saadaoui (aged 36, from Abram, near Wigan in Greater Manchester) and Amar Hussein (aged 51, of no fixed address) were charged with preparation of terrorist acts (contrary to Section 5 of the Terrorism Act 2006) between 13 December 2023 and 9 May 2024.

Bilel Saadaoui (aged 35 from Hindley, near Wigan) was charged with failure to disclose information about an act of terrorism.

All three men are originally from Tunisia.

They were arrested on 8 May 2024, following raids on four addresses in Wigan and Bolton.

In an initial hearing, the prosecution told the court as follows:

“Walid Saadaoui and Amar Hussein planned to conduct an Isil or Daesh-inspired terrorist attack in the UK during which they intended causing multiple fatalities using automatic weapons. The main targets of their attack plans were the Jewish community in the northwest of England and members of both law enforcement and military.

Both defendants took significant steps to prepare, and by May 2024, had reached the point at which, they believed, they were in a position to launch their attack. Between December 2023 and May 2024, Walid Saadaoui shared with another individual his detailed plans to purchase firearms to use in his planned attack.

He also stated that he was in communication with and a member of Isis. Walid Saadaoui was arrested on May 8 as he travelled to a pre-arranged meeting to take receipt of the weapons. Hussein was arrested at another location and Bilal Saadaoui was also arrested.”

The prosecution also alleged that Bilel was given Walid’s will, £17,000 in cash and a key for a hidden safe in Walid’s house that contained over £75,000 in cash. Walid allegedly agreed to pay for four assault rifles, a handgun and 1,200 rounds of ammunition and had arranged to store them in a safehouse. He and Amar also reportedly travelled to Dover for “reconnaissance of the port security” where the weapons were to be imported.

All three men have pleaded not guilty to the charges against them.

The trial is scheduled to start on 7 October 2025.

Charges are not proof of guilt. Defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in trial or offer a guilty plea. 

Summary

On 14 May 2025, three men who were part of an online extreme right-wing group were convicted of terrorism and firearms offences. They were arrested on 20 February 2024 and charged on 24 February. 

Brogan Stewart (25, Tingley), Marco Pitzettu (25, Derby) and Christopher Ringrose (34, Cannock) were found guilty of preparing acts of terrorism (contrary to Section 5 of the Terrorism Act 2006) and possessing or collecting information likely to be useful to a terrorist.

Ringrose was also convicted of manufacturing a prohibited weapon (3D printed firearm), while Pitzettu had earlier pleaded guilty to obtaining an illegal stun gun.

The men idolised the Nazi regime, shared racial slurs, glorified mass murderers and promoted violence against perceived enemies. They discussed targeting synagogues, mosques and Islamic Education centres for harassment and attacks. 

The prosecutor said the men formed the "Einsatz 14" online group in January 2024 as a forum for “like-minded extremists” who aspired to “go to war for their chosen cause”.

Preparing for what they considered an impending “race war”, the men stockpiled body armour, rations and over 200 weapons, including machetes, hunting knives, swords and crossbows. Ringrose was building a 3D-printed FGC-9 Mk II semi-automatic rifle.

The head of the CPS Counter Terrorism Division said as follows:

“These extremists were plotting violent acts of terrorism against Synagogues, Mosques and Islamic Education Centres. By their own admission, they were inspired by SS tactics and supremacist ideology. Had Christopher Ringrose managed to completely finish building the 3-D printed semi-automatic firearm that he had started to, it could have been used leading to devastating consequences.”

Summary

On 26 April 2024, neo-Nazi extremist Mason Reynolds (aged 19), from Brighton, was found guilty of possessing an article for the purpose of terrorism (contrary to Section 57 of the Terrorism Act 2000). This related to a note on his phone detailing his plan to attack Hove Synagogue in East Sussex. He had developed plans considering a possible suicide bombing in the synagogue during a Jewish holiday and possessed bomb-making manuals.

Research & target selection

The note on Reynolds’ phone included information about Hove Synagogue’s exits, entrances, security cameras and a Google Maps video of the location. On one image he marked the “quickest and efficient way in”, noting that this “Could be good for surprise attack.”

Recognising that the Jewish community attend synagogue in greater numbers over major festivals, Reynolds also wrote: "The Jewish holidays that tend to have the most people in synagogues are Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, and Passover." In one discussion on Telegram, Reynolds told another teenager that, “I wanna strap multiple pipe [bombs] to my chest and blow myself up inside a synagogue… I have a plan.”

Online extremism

Reynolds used Telegram to spread neo-Nazi propaganda and shared videos of terrorist attacks. The court deemed him dangerous and emphasised his deep-seated, extreme right-wing ideology. He was the administrator of the “Far Right Sigmas” Telegram channel that shared extreme right-wing antisemitic and racist content.

Reynolds was arrested on 27 June 2023, and police discovered materials such as the “Mujahideen’s Explosives Handbook” and instructions for making a 3D printed gun on his phone.

Sentencing

On 14 June 2024, Mason Reynolds was jailed for eight years with five years on extended licence. Prior to trial, Reynolds pleaded guilty to 10 terrorism offences:

• Five offences of possession of terrorist material (contrary to Section 58 of the Terrorism Act 2000)
• Five offences of dissemination of terrorist publications (contrary to Section 2 of the Terrorism Act 2006)

Summary

In September 2021, Matthew Cronjager (aged 18), from Ingatestone, Essex, was convicted of multiple terrorism charges, including plotting right-wing terrorist acts. 

In October 2021, he was sentenced to 11 years' and 4 months' detention in a young offenders institution. He was arrested in December 2020 aged 17.

Cronjager drew up plans for a storage bunker; provided information for the manufacture of two firearms (Cheetah-9 and FGC-9) using a 3D printer; and transferred money for the purchase of materials to manufacture the firearms.

Specifically, he attempted to produce or procure a 3D printed firearm or a sawn-off shotgun to kill an Asian friend over the friend's boasts that he had slept with white women.

Cronjager also discussed aspirations to target Jews, Muslims, homosexuals and the UK government. The jury heard that his targets included “powerful Jewish figures in banks and stuff”.

Cronjager, who is diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, was the UK leader of the Telegram-based extreme right-wing group called “Exiled 393 library” and was also active on The British Hand group. He participated in providing an online library of right-wing extremist material, including propaganda and manuals.

From August 2020, Cronjager unwittingly engaged online with an undercover police officer, sending the officer money and instructions for a contact to produce a 3D-printed firearm.

Cronjager was found guilty of two terrorism offences:

• Engaging in the preparation of an act of terrorism (contrary to Section 5 of the Terrorism Act 2006)
• Disseminating a terrorist publication (contrary to Section 2 (1) of the Terrorism Act 2006)

At the start of the trial, Cronjager pleaded guilty to four offences of possessing material likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism (contrary to Section 58 of the Terrorism Act 2006).

In sentencing Cronjager, Judge Lucraft QC stated as follows:

“You are someone who, in your own words, had fascist beliefs and wanted to bring about a change of government by violence…In the messages that were found, and in ones passing between you and an undercover officer that you had deleted but he retained, you expressed hatred for people of different coloured skin, for Jewish people, Muslims and those of a different sexual orientation to your own. You expressed a desire to bring about your own revolution based on your own racist ideology...In my view you are someone who played a leading role in terrorist activity where the preparations were not far advanced”.

Summary

In November 2019, Jack Reed (aged 16 at the time), from Durham, was convicted of six terrorism offences, including planning to commit violence motivated by an extreme antisemitic and white supremacist ideology. He was sentenced to six years and eight months in prison in January 2020.

Reed's planning included reading far-right ideological material, searching information on synagogues and trying to obtain ammonium nitrate. Prosecution claimed in court that he kept diaries similar to Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris, the perpetrators of the 1999 Columbine High School mass shooting in Colorado. Reed also reportedly had satanic beliefs that created a sadistic mentality.

Reed's diary-manifesto was titled “Storm 88 - A manual for practical sensible guerrilla warfare against the kike system in Durham city area, Sieg Heil.” He wrote about numerous potential targets.

Reed also had plans to firebomb synagogues in the Durham area, and his online searches included looking for “Newcastle synagogue” and a “map of synagogues in the UK”.

Some of the teenager’s diary was made public after the trial, and one page clearly shows where and why he wanted to attack:

“There are several areas in Durham worth attacking, and here’s why:
*Post offices – cuts off communication
*Telephone wires – the same reason
*Pubs – prevents degeneracy, scares/angers laymen
*Passport office – responsible for immigration
*Bus station – large modem of transport for government workers
*Schools – serve as centres of indoctrination for the youth
*Council buildings – weakens their grip over the city
*Banks – obvious reasons"

In November 2019, Reed was found guilty of the following offences:

• One offence of engaging in the preparation of an act of terrorism (contrary to Section 5 of the Terrorism Act 2006)

• One offence of disseminating terrorist publications (contrary to Section 2 of the Terrorism Act 2006)

• One offence of possessing material for terrorist purposes (contrary to Section 57 of the Terrorism Act 2000)

• Three offences of collecting or possessing information useful in the preparation of an act of Terrorism (contrary to Section 58(1)(b) of the Terrorism Act 2000)

Summary

Aweys Shikhey (aged 38 at the time) and an ISIS supporter in Kenya discussed plans to commit a firearms attack in the UK, targeting the Jewish community in the Stamford Hill area in north London.

The pair aspired to obtain AK-47 assault rifles but lacked a concrete operational plan and did not procure any weapons. Other targets discussed included The Queen and former Prime Minister David Cameron. Shikhey also attempted to join ISIS.

In February 2018, Shikhey was found guilty of preparing for acts of terrorism (contrary to Section 5 of the Terrorism Act 2006). In April 2018, Shikhey was sentenced to eight years in prison with a further four years on extended licence.

Summary

Ummarayiat (Ummar) Mirza (aged 21 at the time) and his wife Madihah Taheer (aged 21 at the time) planned an ISIS-inspired knife attack in their home city of Birmingham.

Although their final target or targets are unknown, they performed online hostile reconnaissance of numerous possible targets. This included searching Wikipedia lists of Jewish communities in Britain, Jewish areas in London and Birmingham, as well as military locations in Birmingham.

In preparation for an attack, Ummar researched terror acts and bought a steel hunting knife and a rubber training knife, which he used to practise on a training dummy.

According to the judge's sentencing remarks, Mirza was inspired to research Jewish targets after receiving Telegram messages in February 2017 from the Lone Mujahid account that encouraged attacks against British Jewish locations.

Ummar subsequently searched online for “Jewish area of London”, “Jewish communities in the UK” and “Birmingham central synagogue”. He also searched online about one of Lee Rigby's killers and 2017 Westminster attacker Khalid Masood, as well as searching for “barracks in Birmingham” and “territorial army in Birmingham”.

In 2017, the defendants were convicted of the following:

• Ummarayiat Mirza pleaded guilty to preparing terrorist acts between 9 January and 30 March 2017. Two counts of possessing a record of information likely to be useful to a person committing a terrorist act were ordered to lie on file.

• Madihah Taheer was found guilty of preparing an act of terrorism by assisting her husband in Birmingham between 12 February and 30 March 2017.

• Zainub Mirza, Umar's sister, pleaded guilty to disseminating terrorist publications between 10 January and 23 January 2017 in relation to sending terrorist propaganda videos to her brother.

In December 2017, they received the following sentences:

• Ummariyat Mirza was jailed for 16 years (custodial term plus extended licence period - 21 years).

• Madihah Taheer was jailed for 10 years (custodial term plus extended licence period - 11 years).

• Zainub Mirza was jailed for 2 years and 6 months.