A former supermarket worker from Essex has been found guilty of preparing for a terrorist attack after an undercover MI5 operation, prompting a senior police officer to warn of the growing radicalisation of young people online. Alfie Coleman, 21, of Great Notley, compiled a hate-list of colleagues and customers he branded with racial slurs, and wrote a manifesto detailing potential targets including the lord mayor of London and a mosque.
Coleman, who had downloaded neo-Nazi material from the age of 14, was caught in September 2023 when he attempted to buy a Makarov pistol, magazines and ammunition from an undercover officer in a Morrisons car park in Stratford, east London. Video footage showed him exchanging £3,500 for a holdall containing the weapon before being arrested by armed counter-terrorism police.
A search of his home revealed a swastika-adorned rock, a black sun flag, extreme right-wing books, knives, an air rifle, and a bug-detection device. Investigators also found savings of £2,500 and evidence that he idolised Thomas Mair, the murderer of MP Jo Cox. Coleman had earlier sought to buy automatic weapons in France but abandoned the plan.
Detective Chief Superintendent Helen Flanagan said the case highlighted how young people are being drawn into violent extremism online, with one in five counter-terrorism subjects now children. She urged parents to be vigilant, noting that Coleman began viewing extremist content at 14. The court heard that his manifesto was inspired by mass killers he regarded as “warriors”.
