Manchester schoolgirl sentenced for terror offences
Sixteen year old tells court she deeply regrets what she has done.
A schoolgirl held after UK police discovered an Anzac Day terror plot in Australia has been sentenced to a 12 month referral order. The 16-year-old from Manchester intended to hack into the White House and became obsessed with suicide bombings after becoming radicalised online,Manchester Youth Court heard. The girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons, admitted two offences of downloading terrorist information at an earlier hearing. She was today sentenced to an intensive 12 month referral order with youth offending teams to address her radicalisation. Passing sentence District Judge Khalid Qureshi said: It must be every parent's worst nightmare to discover their child has been accessing material they should not, of whatever type.'' Wearing a green headscarf, the girl sat in front of the bench at the Youth Court, flanked by her mother and an aunt, and told the judge:I deeply regret what I have done. I wish to make changes if I get the chance to prove I am not a terrorist.'' The girl was first detained by anti-terror police in April along with Britain's youngest convicted Islamic terrorist, a boy of 14 from Blackburn, Lancashire, who admitted encouraging an IS-inspired beheading attack on officers at the annual Anzac parade in Melbourne. The boy, now 15, was jailed for life last month at the Old Bailey after pleading guilty to inciting terrorism abroad. Phone data retrieved by police showed the pair exchanged more than 2,000 WhatsApp messages a day before they were arrested. Police found she had downloaded a copy of The Anarchy Cookbook, a 'how to' manual on bombs and also had a hand written recipe for a viable explosive in a sketch pad. The girl, who has no previous convictions or cautions, pleaded guilty to two offences under section 58 of the Terrorism Act 2000, charges of possession of documents on or before April 3 likely to be of use to anyone preparing or committing an act of terrorism. No evidence was found that she was aware or played any part in the Anzac Day plot or any plan to harm others or incite terrorism in the UK or elsewhere, the court heard. But she told the boy she had her own plans'' and had used her school's IT system to search for information on Jihadi John, terror group IS and images of Michael Adebolajo, the killer of Fusilier Lee Rigby in Woolwich in 2013. She told police:I thought I would one day hack into the White House.'' Detective Chief Superintendent Tony Mole, head of the North West Counter Terrorism Unit said: “We do not know whether the girl would have carried out any specific attack on a specific area but we do know she had all the information at hand to create explosives that could seriously injure or kill someone. “When we seized her phone, it was clear the girl was downloading images of Islamic State material and propaganda as well as images of different weapons. The cook book had explicit instructions on how to combine certain chemicals to create explosions as well as how to build homemade bombs. “We also discovered conversations between her and the boy from Blackburn although both were not involved with each other’s plans. “This is another reminder of how important it is for the community and families of those who believe their loved one may be in danger of becoming radicalised to call police as soon as possible. We all share a responsibility of tackling extremism and helping keep our communities safe. If you have any suspicions at all, please call us.” Anyone with information is urged to contact the Anti-Terrorist Hotline on 0800 789 321.