Callous teenage terrorist jailed for grooming Asperger's man to carry out Lee Rigby style attack

Kazi Islam, 19, jailed for eight years for trying to make Harry Thomas buy bomb ingredients and attack on his command

A photo of Kazi Islam taken from his computer and used as evidence during his trial Photo: Met Police/PA

A “callous and manipulative” teenage terrorist who groomed a young man with learning difficulties to carry out a Lee Rigby copycat killing has been jailed for eight years.

Kazi Islam, 19, tried to persuade 19-year-old Harry Thomas to buy the ingredients for a pipe bomb and to attack one or more soldiers with a kitchen knife or meat cleaver on his command.

He encouraged the older youth to start calling himself Haroon instead of Harry and attempted to radicalise him with stories of innocent children murdered by military forces.

But Islam's schemes were foiled when Mr Thomas failed to buy any of the right ingredients for a bomb and let slip to "a few friends" what they were up to.

The defendant, who will serve his sentence in a young offenders institute, denied wrongdoing, saying that he only talked to Mr Thomas about getting the components for a bomb as an "experiment" in radicalisation.

But following the trial at the Old Bailey, Islam, of Meanley Road, Newham, east London, was found guilty of engaging in the preparation of terrorist acts.

Sentencing, judge Richard Marks QC told him that his behaviour towards Mr Thomas, who suffered from Asperger's syndrome and ADHD, was an aggravating feature.

He said: "Even on your own account, that you knew he was an extremely vulnerable young man, your treatment of him was as callous as it was manipulative."

• Teenager guilty of bungled attempt to plot 'Lee Rigby' style attack

Judge Marks said that since his conviction Islam had shown neither remorse nor insight into the seriousness of what he had done.

In November 2013, Islam messaged Mr Thomas: "Did u get the ingredients mate?"

Mr Thomas replied that he got "some pipes" but it transpired he got the wrong ones.

The following month, Mr Thomas asked: "who're we gonna blow up" and Islam replied "no one" adding "I'll tell you wen I see you (sic)".

Later that month, Islam tried to disguise the plot with code words when he told Mr Thomas: "So we need to work on this cake."

But Mr Thomas, failing to grasp the subtlety, responded: "cake? U mean the b o m b."

Islam ordered Mr Thomas not to talk to anyone after the older youth admitted he had "only told a few mates", the court heard.

The defendant told him: "Don't tell anyone ... just keep your mouth shut ... The brothers are gonna come after me and kill me and they're gonna kill u as well."

Defending, Peter Lownds described his client as something of a "bedroom jihadist" whose plans had never got to the stage of specific discussion or a dry run.

"He comes from a very loving and supportive family who are very worried and confused by these events,” he said.

At the time he was arrested, Islam, who failed to pass any GCSEs, was living with his parents and working for Winning Moves based in Paddington, which sells a range of popular family board games including Top Trumps, Monopoly, Cluedo, Risk, Connect 4 and Pass The Pigs.

Islam was also ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £120 and made subject to a terrorism prevention requirement for 15 years.