Teenage schoolgirl pleads guilty to terror charges after police find dead child images and Isis propaganda on her phone
Girl, who legally cannot be identifed, appeared at Manchester's youth court
For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails
Sign up to our free breaking news emails
Sign up to our free breaking news emails
A schoolgirl has pleaded guilty to terror charges after bomb recipes, Isis propaganda and images of a dead child and an execution were found on her phone.
The 16-year-old pupil from Manchester, who cannot be named due to her age, pleaded guilty to two counts of terror offences in Manchester’s main youth court on Wednesday.
She was detained in April by the UK’s anti-terror police along with a 14-year-old boy after security forces uncovered a plot to attack an officer during Australia’s Anzac Day Parade.
A subsequent investigation revealed the girl had used her school computers to search for images of Jihadi John, Michael Adebolajo and Isis’s leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
The court also heard how her phone contained images of a dead child, an execution and photographs of people before they were beheaded as well as instructions to create a bomb.
"I will be the one who slaughters you o kuffar, I will be a mujahid," read a caption on one of the images recovered from her phone.
Analysing her Blackberry, North West Counter Terrorism Unit found instructions for a timed circuit, a document about DIY bomb-making and the Anarchist Cookbook 2000. They also uncovered Isis propaganda publications, alongside Isis symbols and images of knives, guns and grenades.
She defended images in sketchbook, also confiscated during her arrest on 3 April, of a chemical recipe as being a response to a Blue Peter episode on fireworks.
ANALYSIS: The West likes to think that 'civilisation' will defeat Isis, but history suggests otherwise
Wearing a striped cardigan and headscarf the girl, who has no previous convictions or cautions, sat between her mother and uncle in court as she confirmed her name and age.
District Judge Khalid Qureshi agreed to allow adjusted bail conditions to allow her to attend college. She must report to police three times a week, and is under a 9pm to 7am curfew. Restrictions also include a ban on traveling outside England and Wales.
The girl will be seen by a youth psychologist before her sentencing on 15 October. Officers found no evidence to connect her to the Anzac Day plot.
Additional reporting by PA