North London boy, 17, to appear in court charged with terrorism offences

A 17-year-old boy from north London is due to appear in court charged with terrorism offences.

The teenager, who cannot legally be named because of his age, was arrested in November as part of a Metropolitan Police investigation into the sharing of extremist material online.

The Met said the investigation “relates to Islamist terrorism, and it is not linked to the Israel-Hamas conflict”.

The boy was charged last Thursday with four terrorism offences.

These include two counts of dissemination of terrorist publications, and one count of inviting another to provide money for use in acts of terrorism.

He was also charged with possessing a document likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism.

The Met said on Thursday he had been released on conditional bail.

He is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday.

Detective Chief Superintendent Hayley Sewart of the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command, said: “It is saddening and concerning that increasing numbers of young people are being arrested and, as in this case, charged with terrorism offences.

“Counter Terrorism Policing works hard with partners to steer young people away from extremism, and that is why we continually urge the public to report concerns they have about suspected extremism or terrorism activity.

“If you have concerns that a friend or loved one is being drawn into extremism or terrorism, tell police.

“The information we get from the public is vital to our investigations, and your call could save lives.”

Last month Scotland Yard’s counter-terror chief Dominic Murphy said there had been a “startling” rise in the number of children in London becoming lured into terrorist activity with arrests now running at double the 20-year average.

He said the “uncomfortable” increase in child radicalisation was being driven by an online environment that was enabling young Londoners to consume a mix of toxic ideologies that were fuelling the terrorist threat.

But he said that although Islamist terror remained the biggest overall danger, extreme Right-wing ideas were dominant among young people.

Source » yahoo.com