London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Sunday, Aug 10, 2025

Teen's terror plot against police and soldiers thwarted by mother

Teen's terror plot against police and soldiers thwarted by mother

A teenage Islamic State convert who has admitted plotting attacks on British police and soldiers has had his sentencing delayed after reports he has threatened to behead a prison imam.

The judge at the Old Bailey has adjourned the sentencing of 19-year-old Matthew King from Wickford in Essex.

He was put under surveillance after his mother raised concerns that videos he was watching promoted hatred.

Judge Mark Lucraft KC said she had "done exactly the right thing".

King pleaded guilty in January to the preparation of terrorist attacks between 22 December 2021 and 17 May 2022.

At Friday's sentencing hearing in London, the prosecution outlined the case and the defence began its mitigation, however the judge adjourned the hearing for two weeks for further inquiries to be made at the prison where King is being held.

The court heard that intelligence reports from the jail suggested King had said he would "behead the imam".

King's barrister Hossein Zahir KC said this was "a throwaway remark by an angry young man being stuck in his cell" and asked for further inquiries.


'Immodest'

Earlier, the prosecuting barrister Paul Jarvis told the court King had dabbled in drugs since early secondary school, was expelled and left education at 16 with no qualifications.

He said King converted to Islam in 2020 and, at first, his behaviour improved, but in 2021 he began criticising his sisters' clothing as immodest and attended mosques wearing combat clothing.

He was put under surveillance after his mother reported him to the government's anti-extremism agency Prevent, because she feared some of the videos he was watching promoted hatred.

Several of the mosques he attended also warned him about his behaviour, and one decided he was no longer welcome, Mr Jarvis told the court.

In 2022, in the weeks before his arrest, King began carrying out reconnaissance in east London, including on police officers patrolling outside Stratford railway station, as well as at Stratford police station itself and the local magistrates' court.

Mr Jarvis told the court that one of the videos found on his phone featured footage near the police station, overlaid with a soundtrack including the words: "Coldly kill them with hate and rage. Plan your perfect killing spree."

On 17 May 2022, a CCTV camera captured him filming after dark outside a 7 Rifles Army barracks in east London.

He was arrested at his home the following day and his phone examined.

CCTV showed King filming outside an east London barracks


Officers found Snapchat messages King sent to a girl who was still in the sixth form, known in court as Miss A, in which he said he wanted to travel to Syria to become a martyr.

They exchanged messages about how they would like to mutilate members of the British and American armed forces.

Miss A wrote to him: "We can't let them die quick tho. Slow painful death akhi... I'll guide you through it. Or bring him or her home."

The prosecution said King had said he was "training for Jihad" and just wanted "to kill people".

Mr Jarvis told the court that on 17 May 2022, the day before King's arrest, the girl messaged him to say she wanted to concentrate on her exams.

King replied to say he would "be worshipping Allah" and he might soon be "on the news".

The sentencing has been adjourned until 26 May.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Street justice isn’t pretty but how else do you deal with this kind of insanity? Sometimes someone needs to standup and say something
Armenia and Azerbaijan sign U.S.-brokered accord at White House outlining transit link via southern Armenia
Barcelona Resolves Captaincy Issue with Marc-André ter Stegen
US Justice Department Seeks Release of Epstein and Maxwell Grand Jury Exhibits Amid Legal and Victim Challenges
Trump Urges Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan to Resign Over Alleged Chinese Business Ties
Scotland’s First Minister Meets Trump Amid Visit Highlighting Whisky Tariffs, Gaza Crisis and Heritage Links
Trump Administration Increases Reward for Arrest of Venezuelan President Maduro to Fifty Million Dollars
Armenia and Azerbaijan to Sign US-Brokered Framework Agreement for Nakhchivan Corridor
British Labour Government Utilizes Counter-Terrorism Tools for Social Media Monitoring Against Legitimate Critics
OpenAI Launches GPT‑5, Its Most Advanced AI Model Yet
Embarrassment in Britain: Homelessness Minister Evicted Tenants and Forced to Resign
President Trump nominated Stephen Miran, his top economic adviser and a critic of the Federal Reserve, to temporarily fill an open Fed seat
The AI-Powered Education Revolution: Market Potential and Transformative Impact
Chikungunya Virus Outbreak in Southern China: Over 7,000 Hospitalized
French wine makers have seen catastrophic damage to vines that were almost ready to be harvested after the worst fires in more than 70 years burned through the south of the country
US Lawmaker Probes Intel CEO’s China Ties Amid National Security Concerns
Brazilian President Lula says he’ll contact the leaders of BRICS states to propose a unified response to U.S. tariffs
Trump Open to Meeting Putin as Soon as Next Week, with Possible Trilateral Summit Including Zelenskiy
Katy Perry and Justin Trudeau spark dating rumors, joining high stakes world of celeb-politician romances
US envoy Steve Witkoff arrived in Moscow to seek a breakthrough in the Ukraine war ahead of President Trump’s peace deadline
WhatsApp Deletes 6.8 Million Scam Accounts Amid Rising Global Fraud
Nine people have been hospitalized and dozens of salmonella cases have been reported after an outbreak of infections linked to certain brands of pistachios and pistachio-containing products, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada
Karol Nawrocki Inaugurated as Poland’s President, Setting Stage for Clash with Tusk Government
Trump Signals JD Vance as ‘Most Likely’ MAGA Successor for 2028
US Charges Two Chinese Nationals for Illegal Nvidia AI Chip Exports
Texas Residents Face Water Restrictions While AI Data Centers Consume Millions of Gallons
U.S. Tariff Policy Triggers Market Volatility Amid Growing Global Trade Tensions
Tariffs, AI, and the Shifting U.S. Macro Landscape: Navigating a New Economic Regime
Representative Greene Urges H-1B Visa Cuts Amid U.S.-India Trade Tensions
U.S. House Committee Subpoenas Clintons and Senior Officials in Epstein Investigation
Sydney Sweeney Registered as Republican as Controversial American Eagle Ad Sparks Debate
Trump Accuses Major Banks of Politically Motivated Account Denials and Prepares Executive Order
TikTok Removes Huda Kattan Video Over Anti-Israel Conspiracy Claims
Trump Threatens Tariffs on India Over Russian Oil Imports
German Finance Minister Criticizes Trump’s Attacks on Institutions
U.S. Proposes Visa Bond of Up to $15,000 for Some Applicants
U.S. Farmers Increase Lobbying Amid Immigration Crackdown
Elon Musk Receives $23.7 Billion Tesla Stock Award
Texas House Paralyzed After Democrats Walk Out Over Redistricting
Mexican Cartels Complicate Sheinbaum’s U.S. Security Talks
Mark Zuckerberg Declares War on the iPhone
India Rejects U.S. Tariff Threat, Defends Russian Oil Purchases
United States Establishes Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and Digital Asset Stockpile
Thousands of Private ChatGPT Conversations Accidentally Indexed by Google
China Tightens Mineral Controls, Curtailing Critical Inputs for Western Defence Contractors
OpenAI’s Bold Bet: Teaching AI to Think, Not Just Chat
Tesla Seeks Shareholder Approval for $29 Billion Compensation Package for Elon Musk
Nvidia is cutting prices on its RTX 50-series graphics cards after sales slowed and inventories piled up
Ghislaine Maxwell Transferred to Minimum-Security Prison Amid Ongoing DOJ Discussions
U.S. Tariffs Surge to Highest Levels in Nearly a Century Under Second Trump Term
×