Man found guilty of plotting terrorist attack in Birmingham

A man hailing from Birmingham has been convicted of planning an attack on a mosque and a bookstore in the city. Jason Savage, aged 35, of Fourth Avenue, Small Heath, was charged with terrorism-related crimes following a trial held at Birmingham Crown Court. During the trial, the jury was presented with evidence that Savage had been studying and planning the activities required to carry out the attack from March 2022 until his arrest in March 2024. Savage had embraced Islam in 2010, adopting an extreme and violent interpretation of the Salafist movement. The jury was presented with a video, described as reconnaissance footage, filmed by Savage just three days before his arrest. As demonstrated in the video, the accused is observed traversing the vicinity of the mosque and bookstore, engaging in discourse concerning points of entry and potential routes to circumvent police intervention. Furthermore, it has been established that Savage had also downloaded and watched violent and extremist videos in addition to researching methods of knife-related killing and the manufacture of gun-related components and ammunition.