A 13-year-old boy arrested on terrorism charge in London
A 13-year-old boy has been charged with terrorism offences after sharing Islamist material.
The young boy was arrested at an address in west London on Tuesday 17 May on suspicion of dissemination of terrorist material and was taken into custody, the Met Police said. He has been bailed to a date in mid-June.
The investigation relates to the alleged sharing of extreme Islamist material online.
Officers obtained a warrant and have searched his address, the force confirmed.
The boy is among some of the youngest alleged extremists to be charged with terrorism in the UK.
In 2021, a teenager with far-right views who committed his first terror offence aged 13 was sentenced to a 24-month youth rehabilitation order.
Commander Richard Smith, head of the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command, said: “While it is still very rare for such a young person to be arrested for a terrorism offence, in recent times we have seen a worrying increase in the number of teenagers being drawn into terrorism.
“This particular investigation remains ongoing, but more broadly, we work closely with a whole range of partners to try and protect and divert young, vulnerable people away from extremism and terrorism.
“The public have an important part to play in this, and we would urge anyone who thinks a friend or relative is becoming radicalised or drawn into a path towards terrorism to ‘ACT Early’. Please contact us so that we might be able to get that person the help they need.”
Source: Telegraph
