Jury convicts Yorkshire duo in wake of trial at Leeds Crown Court

Darren Reynolds (Date of Birth: 21.12.1962) of Newbould Crescent in Sheffield was found guilty of:

*one offence under Section 1 of the Terrorism Act 2006: direct/indirect encouragement of terrorism to others to the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism

*one offence under Section 2 of the Terrorism Act 2006: dissemination of a terrorist publication

*six offences under Section 58 of the Terrorism Act 2000: possession of material containing information likely to be useful to a person committing an act of terrorism

Christine Grayson (Date of Birth: 8.6.1963) of Boothwood Road in York was found guilty of:

*one offence of conspiracy to commit criminal damage

Grayson subscribed to conspiracy theories involving 5G mobile phone masts and used her views to justify her plan to damage – and potentially destroy – local 5G masts.

Reynolds posted and shared material that supported his extreme right-wing views. He collected multiple sources of illegal material including images and videos that were racist and anti-semitic in tone.

Both individuals were remanded into custody ahead of sentencing, which was due to take place on Monday 5 June.

Detective Chief Superintendent James Dunkerley, head of counter-terrorism policing in the North East, said: “Hateful views aim to sow discord and distrust in our communities. One post or video has the power to radicalise and encourage others to commit acts of terrorism.”

Teenager jailed for terrorism offence

A teenager who was planning to commit a terrorist attack in London before being arrested by counter-terrorism officers has been given a discretionary life sentence.

Matthew King, aged 19 of Essex, spoke online about committing an attack for several months and carried out hostile reconnaissance at various locations.

He talked about targeting police officers and a member of the Armed Forces. Officers found a picture taken by King on his phone, which showed police officers standing outside a court building with the caption ‘Target acquired’.

King appeared at The Old Bailey on Friday 2 June where he was sentenced to a life imprisonment with a minimum term of six years (less 367 days already spent on remand) before he can be considered for release.

Commander Dominic Murphy, who leads the Metropolitan Police Service’s Counter-Terrorism Command, explained: “King was a committed and self-initiated terrorist who we believe was close to carrying out an attack. He will now spend a long time in jail, where he doesn’t pose a risk to the public.”

Murphy continued: “It’s notable that this investigation started as a direct result of calls to police from members of the public who were concerned about King’s extremist mindset. This case is a powerful example of how vitally important information from the public is when it comes to counter-terrorism investigations.”

Attack prevention

According to Murphy, the speed at which King self-radicalised and then began to start planning an attack was “alarming”. The calls made to the police service from members of the public about King led directly to officers stopping him from committing a deadly attack.

“This case shows that people can and should have confidence in reporting concerns linked to terrorism to us,” asserted Murphy. “Those calls really do make a difference. I would like to commend the work of the investigation team, who built the strong foundations of the case in the two weeks after King’s arrest, and worked in challenging circumstances to secure the evidence needed to charge King and ensure he remained in custody from the time of his arrest.”