Man convicted of terrorism offence

A man has been convicted of terrorism offences after his phone was seized during a schedule 7 stop at a London airport has been convicted of terrorism offences.

Declan George-Candiani was stopped at Stansted Airport by counter-terrorism police on 13 August 2024.

He was arrested after the contents of his phone were analysed and a search of his home was carried out.

Detectives found extreme right-wing material and documents likely to be useful to someone committing or preparing an act of terrorism, including guides on how to commit lone-wolf attacks.

George-Candiani said he started to access the material after he developed an interest in an extreme-right wing group advocating “traditional Satanism”.

On Friday 3 October, he was convicted of two counts of collection of material likely to be of use to a terrorist under 58(1) of the Terrorism Act 2000. The jury found him not guilty of two further counts of the same offence.

Commander Dominic Murphy, head of the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command, said: “This is another example of why the schedule 7 stop power in the Terrorism Act legislation is so important in identifying and prosecuting potential terrorists.

“In this case, analysis of digital devices revealed downloads of some of the most horrific material promoted by extreme right-wing terrorist groups, as well as extremely dangerous material about carrying out attacks and other acts of extreme violence."

He will be sentenced at the Old Bailey on 28 November.