Bradford teenager jailed for plotting to kill worshippers at mosque

BRADFORD’S teenage right-wing supremacist has been jailed for 10 years after plotting to disguise himself as an armed police officer and kill Muslims worshipping at a mosque.

Joe Metcalfe, 17, has also been imprisoned for separate charges of multiple rape and coercive controlling behaviour against a teenage girl but the sentences will run concurrently.

Leeds Crown Court heard that he studied how to carry out an attack, imitating the mass shootings in Christchurch New Zealand in 2019 and Buffalo in 2022.

Metcalfe, aged 15 at the time, stole his father’s Lexus car on June 5 last year and conducted a scouting trip to a mosque in Keighley as part of a "written plan" for a terror attack.

He then crashed the car into a fence and the incident led to his arrest on June 21, 2022.

Metcalfe pleaded guilty to disseminating terrorist publications, possessing a bladed article and encouraging others to commit terrorism. He was convicted of preparing to commit an act of terrorism.

The court which sentenced him on Friday (10) also lifted his anonymity.

Nick Price, head of the Crown Prosecution Service’s Special Crime and Counter Terrorism Division, said: “Although he spent time watching and sharing violent, racist, homophobic and anti-Semitic videos, these were not idle fantasies. He made a detailed plan to murder Muslims at a nearby mosque while disguised as an armed police officer, record the killings and escape.”

"He stole his father’s car to carry out a reconnaissance mission, contacted a gun seller to try and secretly ship a weapon to the UK, and but for apprehension intended to carry out the attack.

“Despite his young age his beliefs and willingness to take violent action to propagate them are a threat to our society."

Detective chief superintendent James Dunkerley, head of Counter Terrorism Policing North- East, said: “We are satisfied that this individual acted in isolation and our quick response prevented this escalating further.”