British neo-Nazi jailed for planning terrorism attack

A British teenager who described himself as a neo-Nazi was sentenced to almost seven years in prison on Tuesday for planning a terrorism attack from his bedroom.

The 17-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, had carried out extensive online searches for extreme race-hate and right-wing material, encouraging others to share the banned material he found.

He was arrested in March 2019 when police found a handwritten list of possible areas to attack and a list of "firearms I would buy" at his home in Durham, northern England.

In November, he was found guilty of six offences, including preparing to commit an act of terrorism, which the BBC said made him the youngest person to be convicted in Britain of plotting to carry out such an attack.

"Cases such as this highlight the dangers our young people face today online," said Detective Chief Superintendent Martin Snowden, head of Counter Terrorism Policing North East.

"The negative influence and powerful manipulation that takes place by those who seek to radicalise them cannot be underestimated."

The teenage boy, who was sentenced to six years and eight months in jail at Manchester Crown Court, had researched details of recent mass killings in the United States and Europe, police said.