A REDHILL TEEN who planned a terror attack with a hunting knife was on Friday (28) jailed for six years for offences he committed when he was 16 and 17 years old.
Daesh supporter Haider Ahmed, 19, from Redhill in Surrey, was found guilty of preparing an act of terrorism at an earlier hearing at Kingston Crown Court. He was accused of planning an attack with a "massive" hunting knife and financing terror activity by travelling abroad.
The court heard that Ahmed, then a 17-year-old sixth form student, became radicalised by watching beheading videos.
Andrew Hall QC, who defended Ahmed, said: "He came across highly effective radicalisers who were fishing for the young, the isolated and the gullible. They found this boy in his bedroom in Surrey and he was brainwashed with a pernicious ideology and they turned him into their creature."
Sentencing, Judge Peter Lodder QC said: "I very much hope that you take advantage of the programmes available to you in prison and realise that radicalisation is not the way forward for you."
Outside court, Ahmed's sister said the government should take action on internet sites promoting Daesh ideology.
"My brother was only 16, even less than that, when he began searching all of this and it shouldn't have been accessible to him in the first place," she said. "I'm very disappointed there was not enough protection."
Det Ch Supt Kath Barnes, head of Counter Terrorism Policing South East, called Ahmed "a dangerous young man" who possessed a significant amount of "shocking material promoting a warped ideology."
Clifford had previously pleaded guilty to the murders of BBC sports commentator John Hunt’s wife and two daughters at their home in northwest of London, in July 2024. (Photo: Hertfordshire Police /Handout via REUTERS)
Crossbow murderer found guilty of raping ex-girlfriend
A 26-YEAR-OLD man who murdered three women in a crossbow and stabbing attack has been found guilty of raping one of them, his ex-girlfriend, a British court ruled on Thursday.
Kyle Clifford had previously pleaded guilty to the murders of BBC sports commentator John Hunt’s wife and two daughters at their home in Bushey, northwest of London, in July 2024.
The attack led to a manhunt before Clifford was found injured hours later in a north London cemetery.
A jury at Cambridge Crown Court on Thursday convicted Clifford of raping 25-year-old Louise Hunt before killing her.
His sentencing for all the crimes is scheduled for Tuesday.
Clifford had admitted to murdering Carol Hunt, 61, and her daughters Louise and Hannah, 28. He had also pleaded guilty to charges of false imprisonment and possessing offensive weapons but denied raping Louise.
During the trial, the court heard that after killing Carol Hunt, Clifford waited for an hour before attacking Louise, tying her up, raping her, and then killing her with a crossbow. He later killed Hannah when she returned home from work.
The prosecution described Clifford, a former soldier, as committing a "violent, sexual act of spite" and said he was "enraged" after Louise ended their 18-month relationship. They told the court that he had "carefully planned" the attack.
Less than 24 hours before the killings, Clifford had searched for a podcast by social media influencer Andrew Tate, according to the prosecution. They argued that the murders were driven by the "violent misogyny promoted" by Tate.
Justice Joel Bennathan called Clifford’s crimes "dreadful" and "almost unspeakable".
(With inputs from AFP)