Former British Army Chef Jailed for 'Terrorism'

Police say the former British Army member held 'far-right' views and ordered explosive components.

A British court has sentenced a former army chef to nearly four years in prison for possessing weapons for "terrorist purposes."

Mark Broadhurst, 28, was sentenced at Sheffield Crown Court in England on Wednesday, two years after police leaked online messages in which he expressed racist views and intended to sell hand-made firearms to right-wing groups.

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End of list When police arrested Bradhurst in September 2024, they found a cache of weapons at the home address, including knives and bows, black powder, ammunition, air pistols and what authorities described as a "handmade hand cannon."

It also emerged that the former member of the British army was part of an online chat group with three other men who were jailed last year for planning to carry out a "terrorist" attack on mosques or synagogues as part of what they believed was a future "race war".

Frank Ferguson, head of the Special Crimes Unit of Britain's Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), said Broadhurst was "clearly interested in violence and the development of weapons capable of causing immense harm to innocent people".

Detective Chief Constable James Dunkerley, who heads 'counter-terror' policing in the North East, said Broadhurst harbored a "far-right mentality" and was "actively ordering parts to make explosives".

Broadhurst pleaded guilty to possession of firearms and possession of explosives under suspicious circumstances, but denied they were for "terrorist" purposes. However, a judge ruled that Broadhurst's crimes were linked to "terrorism".

His sentencing comes against a backdrop of rising racial tensions and hate crimes in Britain, with marginalized communities increasingly being targeted.

British police arrested 12 people in July in connection with a "far-right terrorist threat" targeting an Islamic community in the east of England.

Six months earlier, British prosecutors said they were dealing with the highest number of hate crime cases ever referred by the police.