Teen tried to buy gun for terrorist attack, court told

A neo-Nazi was stung by MI5 in a Morrisons’ car park while trying to buy a gun for a terrorist attack, a court has heard.

The Old Bailey in London heard how supermarket worker Alfie Coleman, 21, from Great Notley, Essex, had spent the previous months messaging people who he thought were fellow extremists in 2023.

In fact they were MI5 operatives who arranged to sell him a pistol and ammunition, and the court heard how he was arrested by counter-terrorism police after picking up the weapon.

Prosecutor Nicholas De La Poer KC said at the time of his arrest Coleman, who denies a charge of preparing terrorist acts, was a far-right “militant accelerationist” who believed in fighting a race war.

The jury heard how from the age of 17, Coleman had immersed himself “in an extreme-right wing world while looking to arm himself with weapons openly advertised on the internet, such as knives”.

Four knives were recovered from his bedroom following his arrest, it was alleged.

He was also said to have downloaded various documents to his phone including a version of The Anarchists Cookbook, a manual that includes instructions for making improvised explosive devices.

Coleman, who was wearing a white shirt and a grey sweater wrapped around his shoulders, remained impassive in the dock as the court heard how he also had a copy of a “manifesto” written by Dylann Roof.

Read more: BBC News