Blond White Schoolboy is Al-Qa'eda Extremist, say British Police
By Richard Edwards, Crime Correspondent
Last Updated: 2:29PM BST 25/06/2008
A schoolboy aged 12
has been identified as an al-Qaeda inspired extremist after sending beheading
videos to his classmates, police have disclosed.
Anti-terrorism chiefs have said the example revealed how
violent extremism is spreading “like a virus infecting young minds”.
The blonde, white schoolboy from
He has been identified only by the initials BC and was
reported by his school after he was found circulating video clips of terrorists
beheading Westerners.
Sir Norman Bettison, Chief
Constable of West Yorkshire, said: "That was bad enough, but he also has
an unnatural interest in guns and weapons.
“He spoke openly of his wish to be a sniper and spoke of
his curiosity of what it would be like to kill someone.”
Sir Norman described him as an “angelic looking boy”
whose police mugshot showed a fair-haired child so
short that his head was barely in the frame of the camera.
“He is at risk of being a violent young man and a threat
to society,” the chief constable said.
“He is not a Muslim. He is not driven by ideology – he
is too young to spell the word.
“But he is being influenced and intoxicated by the
imagery and appeal of Jihadist and other internet
violence.”
Sir Norman, speaking at a conference of police chiefs in
He added: “We know that there is a latent sense of
grievance in the minds of many young people which, in the right conditions, can
lead to the desire for violent expression.
“What happens if they learn how to build and deploy an
explosive device that will cause mass casualties? Or if core al-Qa’eda can get their hands on these people to act as mules
for a more sophisticated attack?”
The police chief urged every parent – particularly
Muslims – to address the issue of extremism with their children.
“The al-Qa’eda brand of
violent extremism continues to spread like a virus infecting young minds,” he
said.
“Every young Muslim will be introduced to ideas around
al-Qa’eda and a ‘global struggle’. I don’t see how
you can avoid it in 2008.”
The 12-year-old boy arrived in
He is now being handled under a scheme known as the
Channel Project, which has been running for the past nine months.
The number of suspects uncovered so far – 124 - was
"higher than expected", Sir Norman added.
They have been referred to the police and other agencies
by schools, community leaders, mosques and others.
"We are trying to intervene early. We are trying to
snuff out violent extremism," said Sir Norman.
Sir Norman said none of the referrals had been
prosecuted because officers were attempting to avoid using anti-terror laws
against anyone identified by the scheme.
"Throwing the book at them in terms of the
Prevention of Terrorism Act would be complete overkill," the chief
constable said.
“We are not talking about criminal actions. We are talking
about vulnerable kids.”
Two other cases highlighted by the senior policeman were
Muslim youths, known only as NH and YH, who were both 15 when they were
reported by their communities because they were showing extremist and racist
tendencies.
New figures revealed that 36 people were convicted of
terror-related offences last year and 31 have been convicted already this year,
with several trials ongoing. Around 140 are on remand awaiting trial.
Bob Quick, the head of Scotland Yard's Counter Terrorism
Command, said: “The threat has not lessened in any way to that we have seen in
the past four summers.”