‘Southport copycat attack’ teen pleads guilty to possessing Al-Qaeda and ricin documents

A teenager who “called 999 and referred to a Southport stabbings copycat attack” has pleaded guilty to terrorism offences. The white British boy, from Kirkby, appearing before Liverpool Crown Court on Thursday, entered guilty pleas to four counts of possession of documents likely to be used in preparing acts of terrorism, including a PDF file of an Al-Qaeda training manual.

The 17-year-old, who cannot be named at this stage due to legal reasons, denied a charge of making threats to kill members of the public in a phone call to Merseyside Police on August 6, 2025. But the Crown Prosecution Service said it was not going to proceed with the charge and it would be ordered to lie on the file when the teenager is sentenced.

Adam Birkby, prosecuting, told the court that the making threats to kill charge “will play the part of establishing the background of the police arriving at the defendant’s address, why he came to the attention of the police and why the investigation started”.

Read more: Liverpool Echo (UK)