British teen pleads guilty to inciting Anzac Day threat

An English schoolboy has pleaded guilty to ­inciting a man to kill police at this year’s Anzac Day march in Melbourne.

A schoolboy from northern ­England has pleaded guilty to ­inciting a man he knew as “the brother from Australia’’ in ­“thousands of messages” to murder police officers at this year’s Anzac Day march in Melbourne in ­support for Islamic State.

Prosecutor Paul Greaney told the court the boy, now 15, was ­facing only one charge — that on March 26 he incited another person to commit an act of terrorism.

The second charge relating to accusations the schoolboy incited a person to behead someone — described in text messages as a “proper lonely person” — has been dropped, but the evidence relating to that accusation would be presented during sentencing, the prosecutor said.

The youth will be sentenced on September 3 in Manchester Crown Court after his guilty plea via video link to the Old Bailey in London last night.

Judge John Saunders has asked for psychiatric, and psychological reports before sentencing, including reports about danger, indoctrination and beliefs and whether it was possible to reverse those beliefs.

The bespectacled youth, dressed in a grey shirt and black and white tie, sat with his father and lawyer and quietly said “guilty” after the charge was read out to him.

Mr Greaney told the court “the defendant has pleaded guilty to the sole count on the indictment, that represents misconduct over a 10-day period inciting (a person in Australia) to commit an act of terrorism abroad and the murder of police officers on Anzac Day in Melbourne’’.

“The evidence of this plot ­derives from thousands of instant messages between the schoolboy and (the Australian man) recovered from the defendant’s mobile phone,’’ Mr Greaney said.

He added that the message the schoolboy sent to the Australian man about breaking into someone’s house to get “a taste of ­beheading” was replied to by the Australian man that it would be “a little bit risky” and that aspect of the plot appears to have drifted away.

The plot was foiled by British police when the schoolboy threatened to kill teachers at his school and police searched his phone and other electronic equipment on March 25.

British anti-terrorism police informed Melbourne police in early April, who then conducted anti-terror raid Operation Rising on April 18.

Justice Saunders said the youth’s sentencing might take more than a day because of the complex nature of the reports and the substantial detail of the case.