A 17-year-old has been arrested by officers from the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command on suspicion of a terrorism offence after he was initially stopped by police using ‘schedule 7’ counter terrorism powers as he returned to the UK on a flight into London Gatwick Airport.
The teenager was stopped under schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act (TACT), 2000 on Sunday 2 June. Officers also examined his mobile phone during the stop and he was subsequently arrested on suspicion of dissemination of terrorist material, contrary to section 2, TACT, 2006.
Commander Dominic Murphy, head of the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command said: “We work closely with other partner agencies to monitor our ports and borders and the powers available to us under schedule 7 help us to keep the UK safe from potential terrorist threats.
“This is also another example of a teenager being arrested for terrorism offences and it is a concerning trend that we have been seeing for some time. Our message to parents, carers, friends and family is that if you have any worries or concerns about a loved-one being radicalised or drawn into extremism or terrorism, then please ACT Early and get in touch so that we can help before it could be too late.”
Anyone with concerns about somebody who may be vulnerable to radicalisation can visit the