Boy, 15, scrapped ‘Isle of Wight festival attack plot’ as he ‘didn’t have a car’ | UK News

A teenage British Muslim convert who planned a terrorist attack at the Isle of Wight Festival had been ‘snared’ by the FBI, a court heard today.

The 15-year-old, who can’t be named for legal reasons, planned to target the event in 2022 after ‘adopting an Islamic extremist mindset’.

The festival was attended by 90,000 people that year and featured performances from the likes of Lewis Capaldi, Nile Rodgers and Chic, Madness and Kasabian.

In Kingston crown court, jurors were told the terrorist attack didn’t happen because the teenager didn’t have a vehicle.

Instead the boy – who had a photo of Osama Bin Laden as his phone’s background – hatched plans for a knife attack at an education institution.

He was discovered using the Discord messaging app to discuss his plans by the FBI, who tipped off British authorities and he was arrested, prosecutors said.

The white British boy, from the Isle of Wight, is now on trial and is facing four charges of terrorism and a charge for possession of a knife.

The teenager developed an interest in extreme Islam over time and supported ISIS, the court heard, and shared Islamic State propaganda videos and clips of beheadings and executions under an Arabic name translating to ‘God over disbelief’.

When he was arrested, he was found with a handwritten note titled ‘To My Family’ explaining that he was ‘driven by hatred of the kuffar’ – an Islamic term for someone who doesn’t believe in God.

He wrote a note to his mother saying: ‘Please know that anything which happens did not be caused by you and what you limited me from doing. Rather if anything does happen then it was fueled by my hatred to the kuffar.’

He also wrote a note to his grandmother, asking her to convert to Islam.

Serena Gates, prosecuting, told jurors: ‘It is alleged that the defendant, has over time, adopted an Islamic extremist mindset.

‘By July 2022, the prosecution allege this culminated in him taking preliminary steps, which amounted to “engaging in conduct in preparation of terrorist acts.”‘

After changing his plan to attack Isle of Wight Festival in June 2022, the boy allegedly drew up ‘alternative targets for a knife attack’ targeting individuals who worked at an educational institute on the Isle of Wight.

Sketches and notes appeared to show guns and threats of violence towards the individuals, Ms Gates said.

Ms Gates described the videos that the boy shared online, using social media sites Discord, Reddit, and Instagram.

The boy has been described as a ‘generally isolated figure’ who gradually showed concerning behaviours – people who knew him said he ‘looked unkempt and spoiling for a fight’.

The teen stated he ‘couldn’t support paying taxes in the UK as in his view, it was supporting Syrian children being bombed’, and he thought the Charlie Hebdo shootings were ‘justified’.

The boy, who has autism, has denied all charges.

He was described as ‘bright, articulate and capable of exchanging ideas with others’ and ‘perfectly intelligent’.

The trial has been adapted so barristers do not wear robes and wigs and more breaks are taken, due to the teen’s age.

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