Boy charged over alleged plot to target two Sutton mosques

A 14-year-old boy was charged on 15 July with preparing terrorist acts after allegedly plotting to target two mosques in Sutton, south London. The case was linked to extreme right-wing terrorism and there was no believed enduring or wider threat.

The boy was first arrested on 9 July at an address in south London over suspected criminal damage to a vehicle connected to an incident on 20 June in the Sutton area. Officers said a search of the address uncovered documents of concern, and he was later re-arrested on suspicion of an offence under section 5 of the Terrorism Act 2006, which covers preparation of terrorist acts. After further enquiries and consultation with the Crown Prosecution Service, he was charged with engaging in conduct in preparation for giving effect to an intention to conduct acts of terrorism and with racially aggravated criminal damage relating to a car window.

The mosques had been contacted and were receiving ongoing advice and support from specialist officers. The victim in the vehicle damage investigation was also contacted, and officers were not seeking anyone else in connection with the case. The boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Thursday.

In a separate extreme right-wing terrorism-related investigation linked to a suspected threat directed towards an Islamic event in Suffolk, 12 people were arrested, while a man was arrested over an alleged assault outside a mosque in Leyton.

A Five Eyes law-enforcement and security paper from Counter Terrorism Policing says radicalised minors can pose the same credible terrorist threat as adults and argues that agencies cannot tackle the problem alone. The paper calls for a whole-of-society response to identify and counter radicalisation before it becomes an arrest.

In the year ending 30 June 2025, there were 234 terrorism-related arrests in Great Britain, and 42 of those arrests involved people aged 17 and under, up from 40 the year before. The Home Office recorded 255 terrorism-related arrests in 2025, up 2% from 250 in 2024, and 39 people aged 17 and under were arrested in connection with counter-terrorism investigations. Parliamentary briefing material puts the total number of terrorism-related arrests in Great Britain between 11 September 2001 and 31 March 2025 at 5,734.