Three men appear in court over alleged IS-inspired terror plot in Manchester

Three men have appeared in court over an alleged plot to carry out an Islamic state inspired gun attack, targeting the Jewish community and others in north-west England.

The court hearing came after a series of raids were carried out last week by counter-terrorism officers. Those raids were in the Bolton and Wigan areas of Greater Manchester. We knew at that point that the men who’d been arrested were being detained and questioned under the Terrorism Act. But during the hearing, we learned more of the details about the suspicions that police were acting on and more details about this alleged plot.

The prosecution said in court that this was an alleged plot to carry out an IS inspired attack using automatic firearms. It was said it was designed to kill multiple people. The court heard that the target would primarily have been the Jewish community in Greater Manchester, as well as law enforcement and the military.

Two of the men who appeared in court are accused of plotting that attack during a period of around about five months, it was said, from December last year until May this year. The third man who made a court appearance, whose the brother of one of the other suspects, was appearing on an allegation that he failed to inform the authorities about an act of terror, an allegation his solicitor said he denies.

One of the most senior police officers at the force has said that of course, these details that have emerged are deeply concerning and distressing. He has talked about the huge impact, inevitably there will be on the Jewish community, in particular in Greater Manchester, saying that they’re working with community groups to try and provide reassurance to people. As for the men who appeared in court today, they were remanded in custody and their next court appearance is due to be later this month.