Man convicted of terrorism offence after encouraging uprising

A man who encouraged a violent uprising against the government has been convicted of a terrorism offence.

Paul Martin posted 16,000 messages on a Telegram group entitled ‘The Resistance UK’ in which he called for the use of crossbows and explosives.

The 60-year-old from Croydon was arrested at his home address on September 28 2021 and a number of items were seized by police. The items included a stun gun disguised as a torch, two crossbows with bolts, a large knife, air guns and drones.

Analysis of his activity on the Telegram group found that he was responsible for four percent on the messages in the 8,000 member good.

The messages said that Covid was a hoax and the vaccine was a poison designed to kill you off. He encouraged the other members of the group to purchase crossbows and make petrol bombs.

Martin was found guilty of encouragement of terrorism, contrary to section 1 of the Terrorism Act 2006 and found not guilty of possession of articles for the purposes of terrorism, contrary to section 57 of the Terrorism Act 2000. He previously pleaded guilty to possession of a weapon capable of discharging a noxious substance or other thing (stun gun), contrary to section 5(1)(b) of the Firearms Act 1968.

He is due to be sentenced at the Old Bailey on 18 December.

Commander Dominic Murphy, head of Counter Terrorism Policing London, said: “This is an unusual case dating back to the time of the Covid pandemic when social media contained many conspiracy theories about the vaccine and lockdown restrictions.

“However, Paul Martin’s actions went way beyond lawful comment or protest against Government policy as he encouraged others online to acquire weapons and use them in attacks.

“Anyone who advocates violence in this way can expect to be arrested and prosecuted to the full extent of the law.

“Single Issue Terrorism such as this remains a very small part of our caseload, however we are always alert to how political, economic and social events are changing the focus of our work.”