'Terror manual' teenager guilty

A teenager has been told that he faces jail after an Old Bailey jury found him guilty of having a terrorism-related explosives manual.

Abdul Patel, an 18-year-old from east London, was said in court to be "ready, willing and able" to help terrorists.

The Muslim teenager was found guilty of one charge of possessing a document likely to be useful for terrorism.

The jury found him not guilty of a second charge of possessing a document for an act of terrorism.

Patel, of Clapton in east London, was 17 when he was arrested at his wife's family home in August 2006.

Under his bed police found what prosecutors said was an explosives manual detailing the construction of home-made bombs.

The manual was originally written for US experts and contained diagrams and drawings for improvised explosive devices. It included bomb recipes involving ordinary chemicals and products, such as fertiliser.

'No innocent explanation'

Prosecuting, Peter Wright, QC, said Patel's possession of the manual had no innocent explanation.

"It was entirely deliberate. It was available for use if called upon," he said.

"It was in the custody of a young man who was ready, willing and able to assist in a cause he believed in.

"In the wrong hands, the information contained in this manual can have catastrophic consequences, including causing explosions of the most terrifying kind in the UK and abroad.

"What police found was kept for a terrorist purpose should the need arise."

Patel had told the court the manual was not his, but had been left with him by another man known to his father. He had asked the man to take the boxes back, he said.

One of the boxes also included a CD which the prosecution said included images of the 9/11 attacks on New York and Islamist threats to US servicemen and women.

Lines in the address included: "We promise we will not let you live safely. Our Mujahideen are coming to you very soon to let you see what you did not see before."

But Mr Wright told the trial that Patel could be linked to another alleged Islamist via mobile phone calls and text messages, a relationship which added weight to the prosecution case.

Patel's contact got in touch within hours of arriving in the UK on a false passport, the trial heard.

But the teenager, arrested a few months after his wedding, denied being radicalised. He said his father was living in South Africa and had a long-standing interest in the Afghan war.

Remanding Patel on conditional bail until sentencing on 26 October, Judge Peter Rook warned Patel that he was keeping "all options open".