Teenager jailed for planning to commit a terrorist attack

A teenager from Essex has been given a a discretionary life sentence for planning to commit a terrorist attack in London.

Matthew King talked online about committing an attack and also carried out hostile reconnaissance at various locations.

King spoke of targeting police officers and a member of the armed forces.

An investigation was launched after information was received about concerns over King's extreme Islamist mind-set. He was arrested in May.

He was sentenced to life in prison 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 Met’s Counter Terrorism Command, said: "King was a committed, 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.

“It is 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, and this case is a powerful example of how vitally important information from the public is to counter-terrorism investigations.

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

“This case shows that people can and should have confidence in reporting concerns linked to terrorism to us – those calls really do make a difference, and police will act on the information to keep people safe.

“I would like to commend the work of the investigation team, who built the strong foundations of the case in the two weeks after his 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.”

Image: It's No Game, CC BY 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons